


Princes at Play

by TheEeveeTamer



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Aftercare, Alpha Leo, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Alternate Universe - Corrin Doesn't Exist, Breathplay, Collars, Culture Shock, Dom/sub, Early Chapters are BDSM Heavy, Emotional, Enemies to Lovers, Falling In Love, Hate Sex, Language Barrier, M/M, Mpreg, Omega Takumi, Orgasm Delay/Denial, Past/Referenced Hinakumi, Racism, Spanking, The Sex Tapers Off, darker tone, eventually
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-18
Updated: 2019-03-28
Packaged: 2019-07-14 02:07:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 18
Words: 65,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16030772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheEeveeTamer/pseuds/TheEeveeTamer
Summary: Leo and Takumi both end up winning a tropical island vacation, and they find something more than just fun in the sun.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> These were originally just part of a oneshot collection I was doing, but since there was some demand for a multi-chapter fic they're going to be their own thing now.
> 
> Marked underage because they're both dumb 17 year olds in this fic.

He never thought in a million years that he’d be vacationing -- On a tropical island, no less -- with his counterpart and sworn enemy, Prince Takumi of Hoshido.

Perhaps sworn enemy was taking it a bit too far. He didn’t harbor any hatred for the prince; That was saved for  _actual_ threats. Prince Takumi was more like an annoying pest in his eyes. No matter how many times he swatted him, he still came back.

Heck, they’d probably have killed each other by now if Anna hadn’t taken their weapons as soon as they’d stepped on the boat. Takumi was scrappy and strong, but he was still a good eight inches shorter, about half as muscular, and an Omega, of all things. There was no way he was winning a physical altercation, so they’d settled on mostly ignoring each other and only sharing a few terse words when necessary.

Though… Leo had to admit, the young Omega was starting to get under his skin, and  _not_ in the way he normally did. It simply wasn’t fair how attractive such a singularly irritating man could be. And just… did he  _have_ to run around in those tight little swim trunks all day? Leo brought a book to the beach with him every day, but he’d barely gotten through two pages watching him splash through the water and beam at that stupid ‘picture-box’ thing Anna invented.

So he was now trying to get  _some_ peace and enjoy the beach. At night, of course, where people and the stupid sun weren’t around to bother him. However, it didn’t seem like he had that much luck in that, either, because the Hoshidan apparently decided that it would be the perfect time for a  _night swim_.

He emerged from the water and Leo tried not to focus on how the moonlight reflected off of his well-toned chest, or the way the cold night air caused him to rub his arms and shiver.  _Shiver._ Gods he was going  _mad._

He hoped that Takumi would just push on and go to bed, but apparently he had no such luck. The Hoshidan Omega plopped down in the sand _right there next to him._ Like they were  _friends_ or something!

“So I was right!” Takumi threw over his shoulder as he wrung the water out of his ponytail.

Leo knew that he was baiting him, but he couldn’t help but roll his eyes and sarcastically respond. “About what, exactly?”

“Nohrians really are vampires.”

“If we were vampires, then how was I in the  _sun_ all day, idiot? Why are you even talking to me?”

“Yikes, sorry for making conversation asshole. I was just going to ask what you were reading, but if you’re going to be like that!”

“Oh nothing that would interest you, I’m sure. After all, I’m just a  _reedy little bookworm._ ”

“If you tell me I’ll go away.”

“Or I could not tell you and you can leave anyways.”

“Come on, Leo!”

“ _Prince_ Leo to you!” He could tolerate name calling, but casual disrespect?

Suddenly Takumi was  _far_ closer than Leo would have liked. He’d progressed from the sand onto his makeshift cape-blanket. He made a grab for the book and Leo snatched it away and held it above his head. He’d hoped that’d be the end of it, but the archer prince was never one to give up. Takumi leaned over his body and tried grabbing it out of his hand. He was so close that Leo could smell his sweet, Omega scent mixed with saltwater wafting up to his nose.

A couple of things happened in that moment, before his brain could even process what was going on. First, he dropped the arm holding the book up just enough for Takumi to make a grab at it. Then, his I’m-A-Seventeen-Year-Old-Alpha hormones decided to kick in just as the Hoshidan prince lunged for the book and brushed up against a  _very_ inopportune place.

The both paused for a moment, which gave Leo the time to shove the younger Omega away from him.

He’d probably be called pervert, scum, and every single name under the sun before Takumi stormed off back to his room. He was waiting for it. He was  _bracing_ himself. There was nothing he could even say in his defense.

“So, I guess all of the staring wasn’t my imagination then?”

He was not expecting that, however. The archer was a lot more observant that Leo had given him credit for, though he supposed he should have expected it.

“I-I have no idea what you’re talking about!”

“Please, you can fool yourself but you can’t fool me.”

 “Yes, fine, okay! I’ve been staring at you parading yourself around half naked all week! What did you expect?”

 Takumi paused thoughtfully for a moment. Then, he said something Leo  _really_ didn’t expect.

 "Well were you planning on doing anything about it?”

 He was speechless. The only thing he could sputter out was a: “... What..?! _Why..?!_ ”

 Takumi just shrugged his shoulders. “We’re on a tropical island in the middle of nowhere… You find me attractive, I find you  _very_ attractive, and who’s going to know?”

 “You  _do_ realize what you’re asking?”

 Takumi scoffed. “Yes. Believe it or not Omegas have sex too.”

 Somehow Leo didn’t think this little tidbit about their prince was common knowledge among Hoshidans. Prince Ryoma was so traditional and uptight; Leo was  _sure_ it would be news to him that his little brother was asking to have his brains fucked out  _by the enemy._

 Takumi crawled over to him slowly.

 “I’m not asking for a bond or anything. Just one romp, right here, in the sand.”

 He gently pushed Leo’s chest down and straddled his lap. The Alpha went down easily. He knew he should say no, but he was intrigued.

 “That’ll be it. We go our separate ways when we’re done, and no one has to know. We go back to being enemies and no one's the wiser.”

 He almost pinched himself. Never in his wildest dreams would he have pictured  _Prince Takumi of Hoshido_ straddling his lap, very obvious erection rubbing invitingly against his stomach.

 “When is your next heat?” He knew it would probably kill the mood, but he absolute last thing Leo was going to do was get the second prince of Hoshido pregnant.

 “A while.”

 “How many days?”

 “I wouldn’t be doing this if I thought that was going to be an issue, alright?”

 “Just this once, and then that’s  _it._ You and I never speak about this again.”

 “Mmm whatever you say.”

 Takumi leaned in close until the tips of their noses were almost touching and Leo could feel the breath on his lips. He was half expecting a kiss, but Takumi just ground their hips together and smirked. Leo had to bite his tongue to keep from whining.

 He could tell the Omega was getting off on the power play, so he threw him off and pounced on him. Takumi struggled for a bit, but Leo managed to pin him down by the wrists. He’d put up a better fight than Leo’d expected, all things considered. But Leo  _liked_ being in control, especially if it came down to the Omega beneath him.

 “Typical Alpha behavior.”

 “How would you know that?”

 “Would you like me to  _list_ all of the Alphas I’ve been pinned to the bed by? Hinata, Subaki… Oh, even Azama once--”

 Leo didn’t know why, but the thought bothered him. Now that they were closer, Leo could see that the collar Takumi wore to prevent bonding was -- for lack of a better word -- well worn. It was hard to tell from a normal distance, but it was punctuated with a number of small dents and nicks from Alpha teeth. It wasn’t as if Leo was a virgin, but Takumi seemed to be on a whole other level.

 “Enough!” Leo cut him off harshly. “You are  _not_ going to talk about other Alphas while we do this, understood?”

 Takumi stared up at him, wide eyed and open mouthed.

  _“Do you understand?”_ He barked, demanding an answer. For a moment he was afraid he’d scared the Omega off, but Takumi just smirked up at him.

 Takumi smirked back up at him. “Whatever you want,  _Alpha._ ”

 He could practically feel all of the blood in his body rush straight to his dick. Takumi used the term so  _flippantly._

 “You’re too accustomed to being coddled, Omega.”

 “Mmm, and how are you going to correct me,  _Leo?_ ”

 Leo snarled and practically tore Takumi’s swimsuit off of him. The Omega hissed as the cold air hit his damp skin. “Someone needs to teach you some respect.”

 “I’ve yet to meet an Alpha that could tame me, but you’re welcome to try.”

 He flipped Takumi onto his stomach, ass in the air, both arms pinned behind his back by one of Leo’s hands. Takumi glared up at him, though the effect was greatly weakened by the fact that half of his face was buried in the cloth of Leo’s cape. He could think of few positions more degrading than this one.

 “You talk a big game, but…” He slid his free hand down between Takumi’s legs, where he could already tell that the shorter man had an erection and slick running down his inner thigh. He stuck a finger in and watched Takumi shiver so  _erotically._ “You’re already soaking. It looks like you’ve been looking for an Alpha to tame you for a  _long_ time.”

 He curled the finger up and into the Omega’s prostate, and he reveled in the soft moan he elicited from deep in Takumi’s throat. He added two more fingers for good measure, just to watch him squirm and thrash and moan and  _gods_ was he beautiful.

 He wanted to tease him more, but Takumi’s legs were already shaking and by now the slick was practically  _coating_ the backs of his thighs and Leo just couldn’t hold back anymore. He released Takumi’s wrists so he could pull the front of his swim trunks down. He half expected Takumi to get up and fight him again now that his wrists weren’t pinned, but he just shifted his arms so that his shoulders weren’t awkwardly twisted anymore. Leo was choosing to view that as a good sign.

 Once his cock was no longer straining against the front of his shorts he pinned Takumi’s hands again, this time above his head. He lined himself up and snapped his hips forward, filling Takumi completely with one rough thrust. The Hoshidan visibly winced, and Leo took some small satisfaction in his partner’s momentary pain.

 He smirked. After all of the jibes and sarcasm and fighting his counterpart was reduced to  _this._ He wanted to see just how far he could push him; Just how loud he could make him scream and beg.

 He rolled his hips once and Takumi let out a strangled cry. Leo leaned in close, chest pressed flush against the Hoshidan’s back.

 “How does it feel to be at the mercy of your enemy,  _Prince_ Takumi?”

 “Are we going to  _talk_ or are we going to  _fuck?_ ”

 Leo’s eyes narrowed. “That’s big talk for a little knotslut like you.”

 He pulled out almost completely and thrust back in as hard as he could, just to feel Takumi flinch and spasm around him.

 “Is that all you got?”

 He knew the Omega was just baiting him once again… Takumi seemed to love doing that. He needed to be taught a lesson.

 Leo hooked his fingers around the back of Takumi’s collar and yanked him up so he was sitting on his lap, bare chest and leaking cock exposed to the empty beach. The Omega grabbed at the collar and tried to put his fingers between his skin and the metal. If the Omega wanted to play rough then he was more than willing to oblige.

 “Let’s see how smart your mouth is  _after_ I’ve fucked you full and had you squirming on my knot.”

 His slow, controlled thrusts picked up the pace after that. They were quicker, more frantic, but no less rough than before. Takumi pushed back against him and matched him thrust for thrust as best he could with Leo’s hand on his collar. Every so often he would let up the pressure and allow Takumi to sputter and gasp for air before he pulled it tight again.

 Takumi tried reaching down to get himself off, but Leo grabbed his wrist with his free hand and snatched it away.

 “You cum when I tell you to,  _slut._ ”

 “Y-Yes Alpha..!” He managed to choke out. It wasn’t the snark he’d given earlier, but genuine submission.

 “I’m sure no one has treated you like the wanton little slut you are, but don’t worry. I’ll give you the respect you deserve.”

 He punctuated the statement with a hard smack to the side of Takumi’s thigh. The Omega squealed in delight.

 “T-Thank you, Alpha!”

 He was already close, but that drove him over the edge. He yanked back on the collar once more as he forced his knot inside of the Omega on his lap. Takumi cried out and spilled as well, despite not being touched.

 Leo let go of the collar completely and allowed Takumi a moment to cough and get his breath back.

 “You…  _Asshole!”_ Takumi forced out between coughs. Looked like Leo wasn’t going to get much time to bask in the euphoria. “You could have _killed_ me!”

 “I gave you time to breathe. Besides, I seem to recall you liking it.”

 “That’s not the point!” Though he could see the Hoshidan blushing faintly. “You need to ask next time!”

 “Oh? I was under the impression that there wouldn’t be a next time.” Not that he would complain about having the pretty little Hoshidan in his bed again, writhing under him… Maybe he could even get him to call him  _master_ next time.

 “I… Look, it was just… Nice, okay?” Leo snorted. He’d qualify what they’d just done as anything but  _nice._ “I mean, Alphas always act like I’m delicate just because I’m a prince. No one from Hoshido would dare do those things to me, even if I ask for them.”

 “So you want to be my little knotslut for the rest of this trip? I think that can be arranged.”

 “You’re lucky I can’t turn around and smack you right now.”

 “Mm, and you’re lucky I can’t bend you over my knee and do the same.”

 Takumi just muttered a quick “Pervert…” under his breath.

 It was a few more minutes before his knot deflated enough for him to slide out of Takumi. He watched for a second as his cum slid down Takumi’s thigh and dripped onto the sand. Leo tucked himself away in his swim trunks again, thought he sight of the Hoshidan prince sullied was almost enough to make his cock twitch back to life.

 Takumi reached for his swim trunks, but Leo snatched them off of the ground first.

 “You’re kidding, right? You want me to walk back naked?”

 Leo picked his cape up off of the ground as well and tucked it and the swim trunks under his arm. “Consider it punishment for cumming without permission. And for getting cum on my cloak.”

 He started to walk away, leaving the silver haired prince kneeling on the sand completely naked and dumbfounded.

 “Leo! Leo get back here! I need those for tomorrow!”

 He was already halfway across the sand, but he turned and called back: “Then I suppose you won’t mind getting them from my room!”


	2. Chapter 2

If anyone had told Takumi just twenty four hours ago that he’d be sneaking his way into the inn to get his swim trunks back from Prince Leo of Nohr, he’d have called them crazy.

He hadn’t expected it to develop into much, but being with Prince Leo was better than anything he’d experienced with his previous partners. He’d never been with an equal -- a  _true_ equal -- before. Even the occasional nobleman’s son he’d been with had coddled him through the entire experience, and he was twisting his own nipples just to stay excited throughout.

It wasn’t as if the sex with them was  _bad._ When he wanted vanilla sex he’d found his usual partners  _more_ than satisfying enough, but sometimes he just wanted a hard, fast fuck. He’d had his eye on Leo the entire week, and while he hadn’t been expecting much he’d been absolutely blown away. Leo had easily surpassed any of the expectations he’d had for him, and then some.

Even now he was mentally fighting an erection as he hurried across the sand and looked for some side or back entrance that would allow him to bypass the person sitting at the front desk of the inn. He’d never been forced to do something so degrading and humiliating and he was  _absolutely_ loving it.

Unfortunately for him, all of the side entrances were locked this late at night and he needed to go in the front. He hurried past the bored looking clerk, covering himself as best he could and muttering some excuse about losing his swim trunks in the ocean. It was a decent enough excuse, but he really wished he’d thought to wash the semen off of his legs before he went back. He let out a sigh of relief as he reached the empty corridor. There were other people staying there of course, but it was late and Takumi didn’t anticipate any of them coming into the hall.

Leo’s room was on the complete opposite end of the hall from him -- probably to keep them from being at each other’s throats the entire trip. He was standing in front of the Nohrian’s door and trying to muster up the courage to knock. He considered turning around, but the key to his room was inside a pocket Oboro had sewn into his swim trunks, not that the Alpha would have known that when he took them. He could always ask the clerk at the desk to let him into his room, but he wanted to do this. He needed this. They were only on this island for two weeks -- A week of which had already been wasted -- and he was going to take advantage of every moment he could.

He rapped softly on the wood and waited. He had a feeling Leo was taking his time on purpose just to make him squirm naked in public for a little longer. When he finally opened the door Takumi noticed that he’d changed. Now he was wearing just a set of loose fitting pants for sleeping and his signature headband was gone. He’d never seen Leo so exposed. Even when they were on the beach the blonde always hid under his stupid cape. He looked lithe and small, but the mage was all muscle underneath that armor.

“You sure took your sweet time getting here.”

Takumi pushed his way inside and slammed the door behind him. “Give me my pants back.”

“Getting right down to business are we?” Leo walked over to one of the chairs and grabbed the damp swim trunks.

Takumi reached for them, but the Nohrian prince snatched them away.

“Not so fast… You’re going to have to do something for me, first.”

“You’re cruel.”

“What can I say, I really am  _Nohrian Scum._ ” He said it tauntingly, but it wasn’t as severe as their previous conversations. It was more lighthearted and teasing than before.

His tone quickly shifted to a more commanding one. “Get on your knees.”

Takumi immediately dropped hard onto the carpeted floor. There was no use trying to prevent his rising erection anymore, and with that one simple command he was already hard again.

The way Leo so easily slipped into the dominant role, Takumi had a feeling he’d been doing this for awhile. It probably wasn’t hard for him to find partners that would satisfy that need for him; He was an Alpha  _and_ a prince after all. He didn’t need to worry about being coddled or treated delicately. The Nohrian lounged comfortably in a nearby chair, the aforementioned article of clothing dangling precariously from his finger.

Leo leaned over and hooked his finger around Takumi’s collar once more to drag him close. He  _really_ enjoyed using that stupid piece of metal against him, didn’t he? Takumi followed obediently, until his face was inches away from his crotch.

“A few things before we get started.” He must have been staring at the tent in his pans for too long, because Leo unhooked his finger and tilted Takumi’s chin up to look him in the eye. “My eyes are up here.”

Leo really did have the most captivating red eyes. He hadn’t really thought about it before then… Mostly because he’d never been this close to the Nohrian. He’d mostly been focused on his lithe, toned body, or the way his hair shifted in the breeze, and -- more recently -- his cock. He licked his lips hungrily at the thought, but Leo wasn’t about to let him start before he’d said his piece.

“First, I am not in the business of raping Omegas. If you don’t like something then either tap three times or say ‘pineapple’, and I will stop.”

He nodded quickly, eager to be on with it. He was already shifting around uncomfortably and trying to keep from touching himself.

“Repeat it back to me.”

“I got it okay? Tap three times or say pineapple.”

“Good. Second, I want you to call me master, or sir if that’s better.”

“  _Master…_ ” He tested it out. The word was awkward and foreign on his tongue, but not unpleasant. “Alright, master. Are you ready to start?”

Leo reached down and brushed his bangs out of his eyes. “That’s my good little slut.”

Leo sat back in his chair and Takumi waited for instructions. His hand was itching to jerk himself off, but he forced it to stay on his thigh until Leo gave him further direction.

“Hmm… Why don’t we put that pretty little mouth of yours to work?” He pulled himself out of his pants, and sure enough he was already hard.

Takumi hadn’t really seen it before, but Leo’s cock was large. Not unusually so, but Takumi was used to Hoshidan Alphas. He’d always heard that Nohrians were… Well…  _Better endowed_ , and looking at Leo he’d believe it. He was easily two inches longer than any man Takumi had ever been with, and just a hair thicker -- Which doesn’t seem like much, but when it came to the knot it was a lot. By the end of their last romp Takumi had felt like he was going to tear in half. In fact, he was still a little sore.

He pushed his nose up against it and nuzzled it slowly at first, licking along the underside from base to tip as he went. This was partly because it made Leo shiver, and partly because Takumi just wanted to drink in those Alpha pheromones while he could. Leo smelled musky and sweet and heady and it was better than any aphrodisiac.

Leo threaded his fingers through his bangs and pulled his head closer, so his lips were pressing against the tip of the Alpha’s cock. He used his other thumb to force Takumi’s mouth open.

“Open wide, bitch. I want you to choke on it.”

Takumi nodded as best he could with the finger in his mouth. Leo used his bangs to direct his head down, until he’d swallowed the entirety and he could feel the tip poking at the back of his throat.

It wasn’t so much a blowjob, as it was Leo fucking his face. Takumi gagged and coughed and swalled around his dick, but Leo did most of the controlling by forcing his head up and off, only to drag him back down again. Tears were openly streaming down Takumi’s face from all of the choking and he was sure his face was completely red, but Leo didn’t stop until he’d came so far down his throat that he didn’t even taste it.

He panicked slightly as he felt the knot swell in his mouth. He’d heard quite a few other Omegas complain that their jaws nearly dislocated from stuff like this, but since he’d already came that night the knot was much smaller than normal, and Takumi could pull his head off with little issue.

He coughed a few times and wiped away the drool from the sides of his mouth to regain his composure, but even that was little distraction from what was going on between his legs. He shifted uncomfortably and wrung his hands together, unwilling to displease Leo once again. Leo was simply staring down at him and languidly twirling a piece of his silver hair with his finger.

“Do you have something to say to me, my little Omega?”

“P-Please sir, let me cum..!”

Leo pulled him up by the collar and directed him to straddle his lap.

“I don’t know if you’ve really earned it yet.”

Takumi was already whimpering and rubbing his stiff cock against Leo’s bare stomach, just to seek some friction, some relief. The Alpha looked thoughtful for a moment, then he reached up and pulled the ribbon out of Takumi’s hair and tied it around the base of his cock.

“M-Master you’re so cruel..!” He muttered. The ribbon was tied tightly enough to ensure he couldn’t cum properly -- Only dry orgasm.

“If you can resist cumming for the next, oh, fifteen minutes then I’ll take the ribbon off.”

“And if I can’t?”

Leo leaned in close, so his breath was tickling Takumi’s ear.

“Then I get to bend you over my knee and punish you.”

Takumi wasn’t sure he was going to make it, but he nodded his agreement anyways. Leo carried him to the bed and dropped him on top of the covers. Then, he went over to a small clothesline in the corner and unpinned his swim trunks. Why, exactly Leo needed to pin them up despite not swimming was beyond Takumi, but his mind was pretty far gone by that point.

Of course the ultimate goal wasn’t the shorts but the clothespins. Leo pinched and prodded at Takumi’s nipples until they were hard and he was arching his back up off the mattress, then he placed a pin on each.

Takumi whimpered as the painful pressure was suddenly applied to his sensitive skin. Leo tugged at each to make sure they were firmly attached. He probably would have cum right there had he not been digging his fingernails into his palms to distract himself.

Leo tapped the tip of Takumi’s straining cock with a finger and laughed.

“My, Omegas really do have such pathetically small dicks. Or is that a Hoshidan thing?”

He was about to give a snide remark, but he had to bite his tongue as Leo wrapped his hand around his cock and pumped once. Takumi glanced at the clock: Only fourteen minutes left. Leo pushed his legs apart and stuck a finger inside of him.

“I’ve hardly even touched you and you’re already soaked.” The finger brushed ever so slightly against his prostate and Takumi nearly screamed. He looked down at the mess of slick and cum between his legs just as Leo stuck another finger in to play with his prostate and he couldn’t help himself. Hos body shuddered as he was wracked with the orgasm, though it was wholly unsatisfying.

Leo tsked. “You only made it two minutes. I thought you’d be better than that.”

“I’m sorry, sir..!” He whined as Leo pulled him up by his loose hair and placed him across his lap. Takumi squirmed, but Leo pinned him down with a firm hand on his back.

“Mm, don’t be sorry. I’ve been dying to do this for a  _long_ time.”

Without warning Leo brought his hand down on his ass hard. He yelped and buried his face in the covers out of shame. His ass was already stinging, and he was sure Leo wasn’t even close to done.

“We’re going to twenty. I want you to count with me.”

“Yes master…” Leo brought his hand down again and he choked out a muffled “T-Two…”

Leo didn’t give him a break, either. Each slap was just as hard as the last, and he made sure to cover every inch of Takumi’s ass and upper thighs until the Hoshidan was sure he wouldn’t be able to sit down properly tomorrow. He was probably bright red by now, and it stung like hell. It took an agonizingly long time to get to twenty, but he finally did. Leo let him up and Takumi wiped the tears from his cheeks.

“T-Thank you, master for correcting my slutty behavior.”

Leo pulled him onto his lap again, but more gently this time. Takumi was confused until he pulled the clothespins off of his nipples and untied the ribbon around his cock. He hissed as blood flowed back to his most sensitive areas.

“You’ve been so good for me tonight, so I’ll reward you.” He reached between their bodies and wrapped his hand around Takumi’s cock. He buried his face in the junction of Leo’s neck. The Alpha smelled of trees and grass and the woods in Hoshdio during a hot summer, and Takumi sighed. It was an incredibly comforting and nostalgic scent, despite who it was attached to. The Omega whimpered as he was  _finally_ brought to orgasm -- a real, proper orgasm -- for the first time that night.

Leo laid him down gently on the bed, and Takumi was wondering what would come next. But Leo just grabbed a towel from the bathroom and wiped him off before climbing into bed next to him. Takumi took it as a tacit signal that their little scene was over.

“Are you doing alright? Do you need me to get anything?”

“I’m fine.”

The Nohrian prince brushed his bangs out of his face gently. “Are you sure?”

It was such a kind gesture. The kind of thing you’d share with a lover, not an enemy. Takumi’s heart skipped a beat, but he pushed the hand away anyways.

“Really, I’m okay. More than okay. Well, my ass is on fire, but I guess that will pass.”

Leo smirked at him. “Yes, I suppose it will. Not before tomorrow, but it will.”

There were a few minutes of terse silence. Leo still had a hand in his hair. He was twirling a few of the silver locks between his fingers once again. Takumi lay there uncertainty. Did Leo want him to stay? Did he want him to go? Would they do this again tomorrow or was he satisfied now?

“... Your swim trunks are over there, if you’d like to leave.” Leo was the first to break the silence.

“Are you asking me to go?” A small twinge of disappointment hit him straight in the gut, though he didn’t know why.

“I’m giving you the choice. Believe me, I’d keep you in my bed forever if I could.”

“... I’ll stay. At least for tonight.” He pulled the covers over himself and squeezed himself as far on the edge of the queen sized bed as he could get. Leo seemed to take the hint, because he occupied the exact farthest place on the bed from Takumi. Something about that made him self-conscious, but he  _was_ the one that started it.

He was so exhausted he fell asleep as soon as he closed his eyes. He didn’t have to think about the weird feeling in his gut or the smell of Hoshidan forests or what would happen in a week when this all came to an end.


	3. Chapter 3

He was woken up around midnight by the Omega on the other side of the bed whimpering and thrashing. Leo thought for a second that he’d been woken up by something -- or someone. He shot upright and looked around, but there were no intruders in sight, just his twitching bed-mate. He leaned over to check, and Takumi’s eyes were still very much closed.

“Hey… Takumi… Takumi!” He shook the smaller man, but whatever demons he was fighting didn’t seem ready to let him go. Leo wrapped his arms around the whimpering man’s waist and pulled him close, if only to stop the squirming. It seemed to help a little and Leo hoped it would be enough for him to get back to sleep. He buried his nose in the archer’s silver hair and took a second to drink in the scent of ocean breezes and warm air.

He hated to admit it, but he was actually growing a little fond of the Omega in his arms. It’d only been a night, but he’d experienced so much more of Takumi than he ever thought he would.

The whimpers died back down into soft, steady breaths and Leo sighed in relief. Maybe now he’d be able to get some rest.

* * *

 

The next time he woke was just before dawn. The curtains were drawn but he could hear a steady downpour just outside his window, and the first rays of light were just peeking around the edges. Occasionally thunder rumbled in the distance, but it all seemed so quiet and far off to him. He knew at this point it’d be pointless to try sleeping again, but he wasn’t quite ready to leave bed.

Takumi woke up a few hours later. His eyes were still closed and he mumbled a grouchy “C’mon Hinata.... Get off of me...” as he tried to wiggle out of Leo’s grasp.

Leo’s eyes narrowed. The hand he’d been running through the Omega’s hair stilled.

“Guess again, Takumi.” He didn’t mean to growl, and it probably came off far more aggressively than he’d been willing to convey. The Omega’s eyes snapped open.

“Gods… Right.” He shook his head sleepily.

“What did I say about mentioning other Alphas?”

“Well what do you expect! Why were you…  _ holding me? _ ” He snapped back, but with the slightest bit of pause.

Leo hadn’t intended to even be in bed when the Omega woke up, let alone cuddling him and  _ stroking his hair. _

“You woke me up in the middle of the night thrashing and this was the only way I could get you to stop your pathetic whimpering.” It wasn’t a  _ lie _ per se; That was why he’d initially grabbed Takumi… But he’d be lying to himself if he said that was the  _ only  _ reason.

The Hoshidan prince just covered his face with his hands. “Geez, how embarrassing… I haven’t had a nightmare like that one in awhile...”

He felt a twinge of pity for the other prince. “Don’t be embarrassed. It happens to the best of us.”

“R-Right, well… Where are my swim trunks? Gods, how late is it? I don’t want to miss any time at the beach!”

Leo grabbed his wrist and pulled him back into bed.

“Slow down there. It’s been raining since dawn, and I doubt it’s letting up any time soon.”

They both fell silent for a moment and, sure enough, Leo could still hear the patter of water against glass.

“Well great! What are we supposed to do all day!”

“Come back to bed, there’s still plenty of fun to be had here.” Leo pulled his wrist so Takumi was palming his erection. Gods, Niles really was rubbing off on him if he was saying cheesy stuff like that.

“You’re insatiable.”

“And you aren’t, Takumi?”

“Not ‘Prince’ Takumi? Rather familiar, aren’t we?”

“My dick has been inside of every viable hole in your body, I think we can dispense with the formalities for now.”

“How crude... What would you like me to do, sir?”

Leo yawned and stretched his arms. “It’s too early for that. Come here.”

He pulled the blushing Omega onto his lap. Takumi was still naked from the night before, and his ass was still a little red and presumably sore.

“You kept me awake half the night. The least you could do is make it up to me.”

He never thought he’d describe Takumi as  _ virginal,  _ but that’s exactly how he looked straddling his lap.

“W-With my mouth or..?”

Leo grabbed his ass and squeezed. Takumi yelped in pain. “As tempting as that is, I want to fuck that bright red ass of yours.”

“You’re such a pervert…” Takumi muttered under his breath, but he still pushed the hem of Leo’s pants down until his cock sprung free. He then watched as the stubborn prince fingered himself open and slowly impaled himself. Leo had been rough last night, and he imagined Takumi was used to a much slower pace so he was probably hurting. He went slow this time, shuddering and moaning with each inch he took until he was filled up to the knot.

Leo wanted nothing more than to grab him by the waist and force him down, but there was something appealing about watching Takumi do all of the work himself. One hand was flat on Leo’s chest as a support; the other reached down and pumped his cock in time with the rhythm -- once he got comfortable enough to move, that is. He considered telling Takumi not to touch himself, but he was completely captivated by the Hoshidan. Especially the way his amber eyes rolled back in his head as he spasmed around Leo’s dick. Or the way he threw his head back as he came into his hand.

The Alpha grabbed his waist and coaxed him into rolling his hips a few more times, and soon enough Leo’s knot was binding their bodies together for the second time in half as many days. Takumi squirmed around a bit, and it was a very slight but annoying discomfort every time he moved. Leo pulled him flush against his chest just to hold him still.

“Don’t move. Knots are actually quite sensitive you know.”

The Hoshidan’s hair tickled his chin and his broken, panting breath ghosted along his shoulder.

“So… That ate up five minutes of our day. Aside from a shower, what else did you have planned?”

Leo was thoughtful for a moment. Even he couldn’t keep doing this kind of thing all day, despite wanting to.

“... Have you ever played a game called chess?”

* * *

 

As it turned out Takumi  hadn’t  played chess, but he was familiar with the concept. They played a few games, and once he got the rules down Takumi was actually pretty good. He wasn’t beating Leo yet, but he might have if the Alpha had held back.

Other than a snort and a muttered sentence about how Leo was “a nerd for bringing a chess board to a tropical island” the time passed in relative silence. It was comfortable, though Leo suspected that was more due to the intense focus the Omega was directing at their games. Takumi left briefly to shower and get his own clothes once his knot went down, but he came back pretty quickly.

Around noon his stomach started growling, but the silver haired Hoshidan was still bent over the chess table, hair loose, half dry, and draped over his shoulder like a curtain. His brow was furrowed, and Leo found himself staring for far longer than was probably appropriate.

“... Are you hungry?” He asked lamely to cover up the staring, though he was pretty sure Takumi hadn’t noticed. “We can get lunch?”

“Not until I beat you!” He pounded his fist against the palm of his hand determinedly. Leo could just see him hunched over a war table in his full getup of furs and fabric, pushing pieces around in the same manner. In fact, he wouldn’t be surprised if that’s what the Omega’s main job was behind scenes -- He had a great mind for strategy.

“I’ll tell you what.” He leaned in close, until their noses were almost touching across the small table. “Why don’t we make a bet?”

Takumi grinned back at him, amber eyes bright with that familiar competitive fire. “What’s the bet?”

“Since you’ve already lost this game…” He pointed at the board, where it was becoming increasingly obvious that the Omega didn’t stand a chance. “If you win the next game, I’ll pay for lunch.”

“And if you win?”

“Same thing, unless you’d like to give me something else?” He winked for emphasis. Takumi rolled his eyes.

“Lunch is fine.” Takumi pushed the pieces off of the board, effectively erasing their last game, and started setting back up.

Leo might have been going just a tad bit easier on Takumi that last game, mostly because he knew they’d never do anything else that week until he won. Of course, the way his face lit up when he announced  _ checkmate  _ was a nice bonus too.

“You didn’t go easy on me, did you?” He asked suspiciously once Leo’d finished putting the set away.

“Of course not, I’d never throw a bet.” Okay he would, but it wasn’t as if paying for lunch was a big deal. They were both still royalty after all, money was no object to either of them. A couple hundred gold was worth it.

Takumi just shrugged his shoulders and muttered a few curse words.

“What?”

“It’s still raining.”

He peeked over the Omega’s shoulder. It was still coming down pretty hard out there.

“So? Just wear a cloak.”

“I didn’t bring one!”

“And whose fault is that?”

“Why would I need one! We’re on a  _ tropical island! _ ”

“I’m not sure what your geography lessons covered, but it does still rain in the tropics.”

“Oh, shove it.”

He pulled one out of his closet and tossed it his way. “Here, quit grumbling and take one of mine.”

“You’re kidding right? You actually brought one?”

“I brought several, it’s much colder in Nohr, remember?” As if it was a sin to be prepared.

“This isn’t the one we used last night, is it?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, I threw that one in the laundry.”

Takumi pulled the material over his shoulders and fastened it, and Leo chuckled.

“What?!”

“You’re absolutely drowning in that.”

He’d almost forgotten how much taller he was than Takumi. The heavy fabric was just shy of dragging along the ground, and he suspected that if he put the hood up it’d cover the Omega’s eyes.

He expected some snarky comeback, but the Omega just blushed. His laugh caught half way in his throat. He was just… Was it wrong to call a grown man adorable? It was just the slightest tinge of pink right now, but with a little bit of prodding he could probably make the Omega go bright red.

He cleared his throat awkwardly. “Come on, let’s go. Anna told me about a place just down the street.”

* * *

 

As soon as they got into the restaurant Takumi pulled the cloak off and handed it back to a soaking wet and shivering Leo.

“Thanks… Um… I didn’t realize you only had one.”

He took it and draped it over his own shoulders. “You can make it up to me later.”

He did get some small satisfaction from the way Takumi’s face ignited. He’d been right about the prodding, and he was now making it his mission to see that cute blush as many times as he could before the end of their vacation. “We’re in public now, don’t go advertising it.”

“Aw, you two are so cute.” They both jumped as a woman came around the corner. “Do you need a table?”

The Omega beside him was suddenly very interested in the floor, and he was just short of twiddling his thumbs. “Um… Yes.” He said it quietly, almost timidly, and Leo couldn’t believe his eyes. Was Takumi… _Shy? Prince_ _Takumi_ , the same man that had snarked at him, almost nailed him to the wall with arrows, who led entire armies… _He_ was _shy?_

“Of course, come right this way.” She beckoned them with her hand. “Are you guys newlyweds? We get them all the time in these parts.”

“What? N--”

“As a matter of fact, we are.” He reached over and grabbed Takumi’s hand before he could finish. The Omega went beet red. If anyone asked -- If anyone knew to ask --he’d tell them that he just liked teasing the prince. He’d never admit that somewhere, deep down inside he wished that their relationship could be so simple. So easy to put a neat little label on it and call it a day. In reality, he didn’t know what this was anymore. It wasn’t affectionate, it  _ certainly  _ wasn’t loving… But it was  _ something. _

The Omega played along until they were seated, but the second the woman went away he leaned over the table and hissed “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

He shrugged. “I figured maybe we’d get a free meal out of it.”

“You can’t just say stuff like that! What if someone we know finds out?”

“Relax, no one knows who we are here.”

It was true. The only person who had any idea of who they were was Anna, and she’d run off after she’d gotten her half-naked pictures to sell.

He saw the woman coming around the corner with some food. It looked like two bowls of some sort of stew. The place didn’t seem particularly busy, so the chef probably only cooked one type of meal. Not that he was going to complain about a good bowl of beef stew.

He grabbed Takumi’s hand across the table. “Just have some fun with it, love.”

She placed the food down in front of them. “So how’s your stay been? Are you having fun?”

“It’s been wonderful, thanks. Though we haven’t been spending much time outside…” Takumi slapped his free hand over his face. “... You know, because of the rain?”

He didn’t know why he said it, and he immediately wished he hadn’t. With that one comment he felt the energy radiating from the Hoshidan shift back into its usual hostility. It was something he hadn’t realized was gone, but now that it was back it was almost painful.

“It’s usually not so bad this time of year, hopefully it’ll clear up here soon…” She paused and glanced at Takumi. “Hey hun are you okay?”

Takumi’s face was completely red and he was hiding behind his bangs as best he could, and Leo could sense that he was absolutely seething underneath.

“Don’t mind him, he’s just shy. Would you mind leaving us alone for a little while?”

“Oh of course.”

Takumi didn’t speak to him for the rest of their meal. They ate quickly and ducked out after paying.

“Takumi… Hey, Takumi!” The Omega stormed out of the restaurant. He didn’t even take the cloak Leo offered to him, he simply walked out into the rain.

“Don’t talk to me!”

“Hey… Come on.”

“It’s not funny! If you’re going to humiliate me in public like that then you can find someone else to help you get your dick wet!”

“Takumi--”

“No! I  _ actually  _ thought you might be okay, but you really  _ are  _ just an asshole!” He crossed his arms over his chest and turned on his heel, leaving Leo stunned and silent on the side of the road.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wild plot appears because I felt like it should.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know if I mentioned this, but I've decided that this is a "slight" AU where Corrin doesn't exist. Story tags will be changed to reflect this.
> 
> Kind of a shorter chapter and no real sex but...

He was getting absolutely  _ sick  _ of being the butt end of every joke. Not when his entire life felt like a string of sadistic punchlines, starting with his first heat at fourteen. Back home… Well, if anyone found out about his sex life he’d be publicly shamed if not worse. Did Alphas really find stupid jokes like that funny?! Or was it a Nohrian thing?

And to think, he’d  _ actually  _ started to  _ like _ him! The day had started out just fine… Hell, he still couldn’t believe they had  _ anything _ in common. He wasn’t dreaming of marriage or bonding or babies or anything but… Well he could have had a companion for the rest of their time on the island.

As soon as he got back to his room he tore off his wet clothes and threw them across the room. The wet  _ thud _ was wholly unsatisfying. He half expected Leo to come knocking, but he didn’t.

_ Asshole… He probably isn’t even sorry. _

It was only mid-afternoon and he didn’t have much to do. He’d been spending all of his time on the beach but, well, that was out for the obvious reasons. There was only one book in his bag, but he’d just have to make it last until the rain went away.

He even opted to turn in early, without dinner, though he spent most of that time awake in bed clutching his pillow to his chest. With nothing to do he started second guessing himself, thinking and rethinking and overthinking...

_ Maybe I should have just gone along with it but… Gods did he have to talk about our sex life like that? We didn’t even know that woman, she didn’t need to know those things! I know that no one knows who we are but... _

He was half asleep when a soft knock sounded at his door. It was so light he wasn’t even sure he’d heard it, but it was followed by a quiet “Takumi? Are you awake?”

He cracked his eyes open. It was probably around midnight by now. The rain had finally let up, but even the prospect of a sunny day and clear skies to enjoy the beach couldn’t cheer Takumi up.

“I told you to leave me alone!”

“Can we talk?”

“I don’t want to hear your stupid excuses! Clearly I’m just… just your little cocksleeve! You can’t just treat me however you like!”

If he’d learned one thing as an Omega, it was this: Alphas were always going to take advantage. He was usually so in control of his encounters; They were always on his terms, but the situation had gotten out of hand quickly the second he’d agreed to go back to Leo’s room. It grew from just a one off fuck to something more. Now Leo was taking advantage of his suppressed kinks and his sexual appetite to get him to concede to his whims and he just… He was positively  _ sick  _ of getting taken advantage of.

It was silent for a few moments, and Takumi almost thought Leo had given up.

“... You’re right.”

“W-What?”

“I said you’re right! Gods this is already embarrassing enough.”

“Think about how I felt! Is that all I am to you, a joke? Something you can parade around like some kind of trophy or conquest?”

They were still still talking through the door, though as the conversation got more heated it had escalated to yelling. Takumi had no doubt that they were starting to draw attention, considering the late hour.

“Can you just let me in? People are starting to stare.”

Takumi stumbled out of bed and yanked the door open. Leo had apparently been leaning against it, because he stumbled over himself and nearly fell to the ground.

“Well?”

“Look, I just wanted to tease you a bit. I didn’t realize how uncomfortable it would make you… I should have seen it and I didn’t and I’m sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing? So I’ll call you ‘master’ and let you bend me over your knee again?”

“No! Alphas don’t just think about sex, you know!”

He’d never met an Alpha that didn’t want him for one of two things: Power or sex. Often both. When he was young and stupid he’d fallen for the kind of charm slimy Alphas used to get their way, but not anymore.

“Look, this was stupid.  _ I _ was stupid. Let’s just end this right here, clearly it isn’t doing either of us any good.”

“I… I don’t want to end this. And no!” Takumi was about to open his mouth to retort, but Leo cut him off. “It has  _ nothing  _ to do with my dick!”

Takumi’s heart practically stopped right then and there. He didn’t want to let himself believe but… Well why would Leo lie to him? He was just as powerful as Takumi if not more so due to his Alpha status, and he was clearly able to get sex. Besides, what did he have to gain when they’d be parting ways in less than a week?

Takumi debated for a second, shuffling his feet and biting his lip in concentration. He was mentally tallying a list of pros and cons, but what it came down to was just… He wasn’t just  _ starting  _ to like Leo, he liked him already. He liked the way he smelled and playing chess and the sex wasn’t bad either… It was such a fast turnabout but, well, what could he say? It was hard to dislike someone with such good taste.

“... Fine, you can stay. But if you pull anything like that again I  _ will  _ put an arrow through your balls.”

The Alpha shut the door behind him. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

They both clambered into bed, but this time Takumi made it a point to lie closer to the center, as close to Leo as he could get without actually, physically touching him. The Alpha responded by wrapping an arm around his waist and pulling him flush against his chest.

“You don’t have to hold me, you know. I’m not going to cut your dick off in the middle of the night.”

“I figured this was my best chance of getting a full night's sleep tonight.”

“... Sorry about that, I forgot how horrible the nightmares get.”

“I made a complete ass of myself today, so trust me anything you’ve done has been forgiven and then some.”

“T-Thanks… Goodnight, Leo.”

“Mm, night, Takumi…”

 

* * *

The next morning Takumi woke up alone. He was a little surprised, as he assumed he’d be the early riser of the two, but Leo was long gone by the time he got out of bed. Maybe he drove the Alpha off… Or maybe Leo had decided that he was too much trouble. He was getting antsy as he ate his breakfast and started getting ready, but the Alpha came back just as he was about to go down to the shore.

“Where have you been?”

“I needed to buy a few things.”

“Oh? Like what?”

The Alpha was holding a small, innocuous brown bag in his hand. It looked to be about the size you’d put a ring or some other type of jewelry in.

“Take off your swim trunks.”

“Why can’t you just tell me what’s in the bag?”

“It wasn’t a question. Strip.  _ Now. _ ” Leo slipped into that familiar dominant tone of voice.

“You want to do this already? After yesterday?”

“I thought you wanted to make the most out of this vacation.”

Takumi rolled his eyes and peeled his swimsuit off. Leo grabbed him by the shoulder and bent him over the bed. Then he kicked his legs apart and Takumi felt something hard pushing against his hole. It wasn’t like a cock, instead it felt rigid and cold. And it was  _ big.  _ He whined and tried pulling his legs together, but Leo firmly held them in place as he worked the object into his ass.

After a few agonizing minutes and some tears, it was in. Leo smacked his ass once and Takumi yelped as the object moved inside of him.

“What  _ is  _ that?”

“It’s a butt plug. I want you to wear it today.”

“ _ All day?! _ ”

“Mhmm… I thought you liked making master happy?”

Takumi blushed and shuffled over to where he’d dropped his swimsuit. He’d never really used toys before, but he was already starting to see the appeal. Every step he took drew attention to the way it pressed up against his prostate, and he was already struggling not to get an erection.

“You went out just to buy sex toys?”

“Oh there’s more where that came from, but we can save those for later.”

“Can I swim with it in?”

“I believe so.”

Takumi pulled his swim trunks back up and shivered as the plug pushed against him.

“Alright then, lets go! Daylight is burning!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying to do a chapter every Friday so we'll see how that goes.


	5. Chapter 5

The skies were clear and blue once again, but everything had changed between the two of them. Leo was no longer just a background or a set-piece to the Hoshidan prince. They ate lunch together, walked along the surf together, talked about history and philosophy…

He didn’t have spend the entire day trying to pretend like he wasn’t staring -- He made sure Takumi _knew_ he was staring. They occasionally locked eyes and Takumi would turn away and blush ever so slightly.

The sun was just starting to set and Leo silently rejoiced that he’d be able to go inside soon. Takumi emerged from the water and made his way over, droplets of water streaking down his bare chest and through his silver ponytail. He caught Leo’s eye and beamed -- _beamed_ \-- at him.

Gods, Leo was gay.

Instead of sitting beside him Takumi dropped himself straight on the Alpha’s lap and rubbed up against his quickly growing erection.

“Someone’s eager.” Leo tugged on Takumi’s collar until his face was close enough for a kiss. The Omega immediately wrapped his arms around neck and pushed his tongue into his mouth. He tasted like whatever fruity drinks they served at the bar. It absolutely knocked the wind out of Leo’s lungs. They broke apart from the frenzied kiss.

“Are you sick of washing the slick off of your thighs?”

More than once during the day Leo had caught the Hoshidan stepping into the ocean to clean himself off when his arousal got too obvious. He was pretty sure he even caught him jerking himself off a couple of times.

“This plug has been driving me crazy all day!” Leo could very clearly see his erection through his tight little swim trunks. “Can we please..?”

“Not so fast, pet.” He snaked a hand up between their bodies and tugged at the Omega’s nipples. “You’ve been a naughty little slut today, haven’t you?”

“Ngh… Y-Yes master...”

“Little cock slaves like you shouldn’t get off without their master’s permission…”

“I’m sorry sir!” He yelped as Leo went from gently teasing his nipple to to giving it a hard twist. “I couldn’t help myself… Please punish me..!”

“Oh don’t worry. I have something very special planned for my naughty little slut.”

He pushed Takumi roughly off of his lap and started walking back to the inn. The Hoshidan looked shocked for a moment, but he quickly scrambled to his feet and followed behind.

When they got back to Leo’s room he pulled out the bag he’d brought back earlier. It also contained a cock ring, a small bottle of extra lube, a pair of proper nipple clamps, and a small folded cloth that he could use as a blindfold. He’d also bought a length of rope while he was out, but he had the good sense to hide that in his room before returning to Takumi’s room that morning. He pulled that out from under the bed as well.

When he turned around Takumi was already kneeling on the floor, slightly out of breath from trying to keep up with Leo’s long, quick strides. Leo pulled the front of the Omega’s swimsuit down and placed the cock ring on his already throbbing erection. Within a few minutes it was slightly swollen and obviously very sensitive, if the look on Takumi’s face was any indication. He also added the nipple clamps. These were a pair of butterfly clamps connected by a chain, and once they were one Leo tugged at it. Takumi yelped as the clamps squeezed tighter.

Then he put the blindfold over his eyes. Leo wished he’d bought a gag while he was out, but he didn’t want to spend too much just for the week. Instead he pulled Takumi’s long hair ribbon out and tied it around his mouth so he couldn’t speak.

“Come, pet.” He watched Takumi stumble toward the sound of his voice on his hands and knees with a sick sense of satisfaction. If he didn’t have a punishment already in mind he might have been tempted to fuck him right there on the floor.

He pulled Takumi over to the big window on the far wall. It was just tall enough that the Omega could kneel on the wide windowsill and reach up to grab the curtain rod, though it was uncomfortable to say the least. He bound Takumi’s hands with the rope and tied him to the rod.

“Be careful. If you pull the curtain rod off the wall Master will be very unhappy with you~” He purred in Takumi’s ear. The blindfolded Omega whimpered and tried straightening his back even further to avoid putting pressure on the length of metal.

The windowsill was wide, but it was still just narrow enough that the Omega was struggling to balance on his knees. Leo pushed his legs apart a bit further for good measure, so the Omega was forced to stretch himself just a little further to avoid pulling the curtain rod down.

With that taken care of, Leo pulled the metal plug out of Takumi’s ass. He was already soaked and dripping and the Omega whined as Leo worked it out of him. He coated the object with a healthy amount of lube until it was almost too slippery for him to keep a solid hold of, and then he re-inserted it. It wasn’t hard since Takumi was already loosened up from wearing it all day, but with the added lubrication the Omega was forced to desperately squeeze around it to keep in in.

Leo wanted to open the curtains as well, but considering Takumi’s reaction to having his sex life even mentioned he thought better of it. The sight of the Hoshidan prince quaking and squirming on the windowsill was more than enough.

He pulled up a chair directly across from the window and took off his swim trunks. He was already hard from the little minx grinding on him earlier, so he wrapped his hand around the base of his cock and stroked just to keep the erection.

“If you can keep that plug in for, oh, let’s say five minutes? If you can do that then all will be forgiven. If it falls out then I’ll just have to find a harsher punishment for you.”

He had a belt in one of his drawers that he was itching to use, if Takumi gave him the chance. Leo lazily ran a hand down his own shaft as he watched the silver haired Omega. Takumi would whimper and squirm and wiggle his hips to try and keep the object from slipping, and then he would gasp slightly whenever it did.

Five minutes passed and it still hadn’t fallen out, though Leo could see that it was getting close. By now Takumi’s legs were shaking as he fought to keep the plug in and to avoid pulling down the rod. Leo let him struggle for another minute simply because he could, but Takumi managed to keep it in, if only barely.

He stopped stroking himself and pulled the plug out. Takumi whimpered and glanced in Leo’s direction frantically, but Leo just untied his hands from the curtain rod. He left his wrists bound to each other, but he was no longer precariously dangling on the the windowsill.

“You did good, pet.” He whispered in the Omega’s ear. Leo dropped him on his back on the bed and tied his wrists around the headboard this time. “In fact, I think you deserve a little reward for giving master such a good show.”

He pushed Takumi’s legs apart. He was still slightly swollen around the cock ring and his hole was twitching and leaking slick. He’d never seen an omega just _begging_ to be fucked like Takumi was, but he restrained himself for the moment. Instead he dipped his head down and lapped at his slick coated thighs and hole.

“Mmpf!” Takumi arched his back and thrashed, and Leo had to grab his hips and hold him still as his tongue went to work. He tasted absolutely euphoric, and Leo dipped his tongue in and made sure to lick up every last drop.

He wasn’t done, though. Next he wrapped his lips around the head of Takumi’s cock. Just as he’d anticipated, the sensations were all too much and Takumi came into his mouth almost immediately. He swallowed it, and took the whole length down his throat for good measure just to hear Takumi scream around his gag. He pulled the ring off with his teeth and set it off to the side.

Leo untied the ribbon gag and set it aside as well. He kissed the incoherent Omega, making sure the taste of his cum and slick was on Takumi’s tongue as well.

When they broke apart Takumi whispered a breathy, “T-Thank you, sir.”

Leo ran a hand through his soft, straight hair gently. “Anything for you, my pet.”

He’d been ignoring the aching between his own legs, but watching Takumi shiver underneath him was driving him insane. He pushed the Omega’s legs apart once again and entered him swiftly, but he didn’t last very long. Takumi was still spasming around him and whimpering and he’d barely gone three pumps before his knot was firmly binding them together.

He buried his face in the Omega’s neck and he went boneless on top of him. The clamps were digging into his chest but he didn’t care, he was more than content to lie there and run his fingers through Takumi’s hair and bask in the scent of seafoam and warm winds.

“M-Master please let me touch you..!” Takumi pulled at his restraints pathetically.

He quickly unbound Takumi’s hands and pulled the blindfold and the nipple clamps off of him. Then he flipped their positions so Takumi was lying on his chest. Takumi ran his hands over the Alpha’s chest and sighed. Leo pulled the covers over them and went back to stroking his Omega’s hair…

_Wait._

_His_ Omega?

Takumi was still just a dead weight on his chest at the moment, and his knot had yet to go down, but he suddenly felt the urge to get away. He had no idea when he’d started thinking of Takumi as _his,_ but he needed to stop. Immediately.

_It’s just the stupid Alpha pheromones. Of course you’re going to be possessive of him when you’ve been knotting him three times a day._

But he’d knotted his previous Omega partners and never developed anything like this…

The Hoshidan finally stirred in his arms and Leo flinched like he’d been burned. He groggily nuzzled Leo’s neck. Takumi hadn’t even taken the blindfold off yet, and Leo was a little worried that something might be wrong.

“Are you alright?” He asked. A little more concern slipped into his voice than he was comfortable sharing.

“Mmhmm…” He muttered in response. “No Alpha has ever… You know, used their mouth on me? ‘M still processing.”

“Did you… Like it?” Leo asked cautiously.

Takumi just nodded and buried his face in his neck. “Just… Tired.”

 _Gods_ this man was adorable. Once he’d chipped past the stubborn, prickly exterior Takumi was just so captivating… Leo prayed to the great Dusk Dragon for help, because he was certainly going to need it.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi dumb language barrier AU appears because I wanted a dumb language barrier AU. Nohrians speak Greek because I said so (and I know some Greek)

The rest of the week passed by in an absolute blur. Takumi spent all day running around the beach; He’d even gotten Leo to walk with him along the shore, though he never could convince the Nohrian Prince to swim with him. Once the sun went down he spent most of the night in the Alpha’s bed -- and almost none of  _ that  _ time was spent sleeping.

Takumi cracked his eyes open. The curtains were closed but a single ray of sunlight slipped through the cracks and landed right on his eyes. He was absolutely bone-tired from spending the entire week alternating between the beach and the bedroom… He rolled over and pulled his pillow over his head, but he couldn’t get back to sleep.

He knew he should get out of bed, but of course he couldn’t help lazily observing the Alpha in his bed before he got up. The sunlight created a perfect, entrancing halo of soft, golden hair around his head. He double checked that Leo was still asleep before he reached out his hand and played with the short, blonde hairs around the his temple. They were just as soft as they appeared, though he hadn’t gotten much opportunity to touch them… Unless he was grabbing onto them for dear life, that is.

All in all it was… Peaceful. Takumi felt more at ease than he had in a long time, and he got the sense that he could lie there staring at Leo forever.

_ Wait did I really..? _

He’d been trying to push those kinds of thoughts down all week, but the more time they spent together the more intrusive they became. He supposed he shouldn’t have been surprised. He’d lost track of the times he’d allowed himself to be knotted by the Alpha, and sexual chemistry aside they were still in a war -- relationships were just as volatile as a battle when any day could be your last. Something would spark in an instant and fizzle out just as quickly. He’d had it happen many times in his short few years on the battlefield.

_ But those were just friends… Leo is… _

What  _ was  _ Leo anymore? Certainly not a friend but… They both enjoyed chess and war histories and philosophy and soup….  _ Soup _ of all things! Didn’t that make them friends now? Just because they were on different sides, born in different countries, they had to be enemies?

Well yes, he supposed that  _ was  _ how wars worked.

Takumi shook his head. They were leaving today. Whatever they’d been on this trip didn’t matter anymore. As soon as they stepped off of that ship they had to mean nothing to each other.

He tried to push the twinge of disappointment down so he could get ready to go. He slid out from under the covers as quietly as possible to avoid waking Leo up. The blonde was still lying prone in bed when he stepped into the shower.

_ I’ll just shower and go back to my room… No need for a long goodbye. _

Takumi could have showered in his own room, but some small part of him was still clinging to the hope that Leo would wake up. He allowed himself a few minutes under the water to decompress. He hadn’t expected to get this attached… He never had before. He’d just been looking for a quick fuck to relieve some tension but...

He must have been pretty deep in thought, because he didn’t even hear Leo enter the bathroom until he pulled the curtain back and stepped into the shower behind him. Takumi jumped and slipped on the wet tiles, but Leo grabbed his arms and pulled him back against his chest before he could go down hard.

“Careful. I wouldn’t want you to crack your head open. I might get blamed for murdering the second prince of Hoshido if you went and did that.”

“Geez, you scared me! I thought you were still sleeping.”

The Alpha tilted his chin up and kissed him. His eyes fluttered shut as the blonde covered his lips with his own, teeth grazing his bottom lip. They broke apart after a second and Takumi covered his mouth with his hand.

“Gods, you need to brush your teeth.”

“You’re sunny this morning. Here move over I’m freezing.”

“It’s not my fault the shower is so small!”

He tried to squeeze in further, but it was hard to keep the water hitting both of them unless Leo was pressed against him. Of course, the Alpha was fine with this. He draped his arms over Takumi’s shoulders as the Omega massaged the shampoo through his hair. Cleaning his hair thoroughly was a luxury at the camp since most bathing was done in a nearby stream, so he was going to take advantage of it while he could. Leo was done well before him -- Damn Nohrians for preferring short hair -- so instead he reached down and pulled at the plug in Takumi’s ass.

“You’re still wearing this?”

“You told me to keep it in…” Leo had put it in last night after they were done and told him not to take it out.

“You can take it out to shower.” The Alpha teased it out and helped clean him up. He still had cum and dried slick on him from last night. Once he was done Leo gently replaced the plug.

“I-I didn’t think to take it out.”

“You’re not wearing your collar, though.”

“Of course not. That’d be like showering with your clothes on.”

He didn’t usually take it off when he bathed alone in camp, just in case one of the Alpha soldiers walked in on him and got ideas. He usually only left himself this exposed around his family, if he was bathing with the other Omegas, or if Oboro was standing guard.

His breath caught in his throat as Leo leaned down and planted feather-light kisses along his scent glands, right at the junction of his neck and collarbone.

“Leeeeoooo..!” He whined. “S-Stop it!”

“You look lovely without it~”

He’d never had an Alpha touch him there before. Omegas didn’t usually take off their collars in front of an Alpha unless they were family or they’d agreed to bond with them. He’d tried to do it for Hinata a long time ago when they’d first started sleeping together, but his retainer insisted that he might not be able to help himself if it came down to it.

The sharp edge of a tooth scraped against his skin and he shoved Leo away on instinct. He slapped his hands over his scent glands. He stared at Leo’s shocked, crimson eyes for a moment, wild-eyed and terrified.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have pushed it.”

Takumi nodded. He was especially protective of his scent glands… Being a prince he couldn’t afford to be bonded against his will.

“I was just surprised.”

They finished their shower and got dressed, but just as Takumi was about to put his collar back on Leo stopped him.

“Wait… Can I do something?”

“Okay..?”

“Do you trust me?”

He wasn’t sure where this was going, but he nodded reluctantly.

Leo stepped in close and kissed his scent gland, sucking and scraping it with his teeth until there was a decent sized hickey forming. Takumi fought the urge to shove him away, until Leo pulled away on his own and stepped back.

He ran over to the bathroom mirror and prodded at the discolored skin.

“Leo! What if someone sees that!” he wiped the spit off with a wet washcloth and fastened his collar securely around his neck.

“No one will even be able to see it with your collar on.” He came up behind Takumi and draped his arms loosely around his waist. “Consider it a parting gift. Something to remember me by.”

Bruises on the scent glands always took much longer to heal, so he had no doubt he’d be remembering Leo for months to come.

“All I get is a lousy hickey?”

“Mm, not true. You also get to keep this.” The blonde’s slender fingers slid under the hem of his pants and teased the metal plug in his ass. Takumi yelped. “You know I wish we had a bigger mirror than this. Would you like to watch yourself get fucked, pet?”

“Ngh… Y-Yes master..!” Leo reached around and started stroking his cock as well. He was already stiff in the Alpha’s hand. With the other Leo teased the plug out of him and set it on the counter.

Before the Alpha could go any further there was a knock at the door.

“Prince Leo?” It was Anna, from the sound of it. Leo let him go and Takumi nearly tilted onto the floor.

“ _ What? _ ” He snarled. Takumi quickly gathered up his clothes from the night before from around the bed and hid in the bathroom, just in case she wanted to come in.

“Yikes, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed! I’m just telling you that the ship is leaving in an hour, so you better be ready.” She called through the door in her sing-songiest voice.

“Alright, yes, thank you.” He waited for her footsteps to retreat. Takumi started to head for the door with his bundle of clothes, but Leo grabbed him around the waist and pulled him down onto the bed.

“Oh no, you’re not getting away from me that easily. We still have an hour.”

Takumi laughed. “Yes, sir.”

“Mm, no ‘sir’ this time.” Leo flipped him onto his back and pulled his pants down around his ankles.

“Oh? What do I call you then?”

Leo planted a small kiss on his his stomach and trailed them up his chest until he reached his mouth. Then he leaned in close and whispered in his ear. “Call me  _ Alpha _ again.”

A small shiver ran down Takumi’s spine. They only had one more hour together, he would allow himself to indulge this one fantasy… Just this once.

“Of course, Alpha.” He whispered in return. It wasn’t sarcastic or submissive like the first time he’d done it. It was soft, easy on the tongue. Like he was speaking to a lover. His  _ secret  _ lover. A concept that would make any young Omega squeal.

That’s what Leo was he supposed, his secret lover. If only for the week.

They needed to be quick this time, so Leo simply pushed the hem of his leggings down. Takumi wrapped his legs around his waist and threw his head back. The Alpha kissed along his neck gently as he thrust.

“ _ Gods, you’re beautiful. _ ” He whispered in his ear. Takumi blushed. He wasn’t used to being heaped with praise by his Alphas. It was flattering, but he didn’t know how to respond.

Instead he just bit his lip and dug his fingers into the back of Leo’s shirt. He wished they weren’t clothed… He wanted to give Leo a little going away present as well. He pushed the shirt up and dragged his fingernails down Leo’s back every time the Alpha brushed his prostate.

Leo shuddered on top of him an instant later and Takuim felt the knot press against him.

“ _ Σε αγαπώ… _ ” The Alpha muttered it against his neck, but Takumi didn’t have much time to be confused because Leo reached between their bodies and wrapped a hand around his cock. A few quick pumps and he was finishing onto his shirt.

Leo rolled them onto their sides and pulled him close. He ran a hand through the Omega’s hair and nuzzled his bangs gently, almost affectionately.

Takumi allowed himself to revel in the attention just until the knot stopped connecting their bodies. Then, he got out of bed and quickly hurried to the bathroom to clean off, waddling with his pants still around his ankles.

“Leo! You got cum all over my shirt!”

“Oh calm down, it’ll wash out.” The Alpha entered the Alpha entered the bathroom behind him and grabbed a washcloth to wipe the slick off of his dick. Takumi envied how easily Alphas were able to clean up after sex; He’d be dripping cum for the rest of the day no matter how well he cleaned. He still did his best, if only to erase the distinct Alpha scent clinging to his skin.

He also took his shirt off and tried cleaning it in the sink. He got most of the sticky white fluid off of it, but it was too wet to wear for the rest of the day. He’d need to get another one out of his bag in his room. He added it to the pile of dirty clothes that had been discarded around the Nohrian’s room. He was doing a final once over of the room and it suddenly struck him that it was all coming to an end.

“So… I guess this is goodbye?” He was hovering awkwardly by the door, unsure of whether or not he should just leave. He bowed his head and stared resolutely at the floor.

“I… Suppose it is.” Leo stepped closer to him and tilted his chin up. Takumi stared expectantly into those bright crimson eyes.

Takumi pushed himself up onto his toes and closed the space between their lips quickly. It wasn’t a long or deep kiss like many of the previous ones they’d shared. It was quick, chaste.

He was about to turn and leave, but he still had one pressing thing on his mind.

“Leo?”

“Yeah?”

“What did you say? When we were… You know, having sex earlier? You said something in the Nohrian tongue…”

“I…” He looked hopelessly conflicted for just an instant. It flashed across his face so quickly Takumi couldn’t even be sure he’d seen it. His eyes hardened again in an instant. “... It was nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

He didn’t like that answer, but the boat would be arriving in a couple of minutes and he didn’t have time to argue.

* * *

 

Going back to the world as he knew it was a bigger challenge than Takumi had initially anticipated. For the past week he’d lived and breathed the blonde Alpha; His entire life had been consumed by him. But now they were on the same ship traveling to the same home, and he’d never felt so disconnected from anyone. Leo was standing on the other end of the ship, back in his full set of armor and standing rigidly with his arms folded behind his back… And Takumi was in his furs once again and it felt like he was wearing someone else’s skin.

He felt like an impostor of the prince that had left Hoshido just two weeks beforehand. He did his best not to look over at him just in case anyone was watching and might notice. Leo didn’t look back at him once, at least not that he saw. Takumi had no idea why, but it disappointed him. An unsettling emptiness nestled itself in the pit of his stomach.

The arrived on the Hoshidan side first. Leo had been standing close to the point where he would disembark, and he didn’t move as Takumi approached. They bumped shoulders gently, though to an outsider it might look aggressive or standoffish. The Nohrian prince slid something into his hand as he brushed past.

“Watch it,  _ Omega. _ ” He hissed. Takumi felt his face flush.

“Stay out of my way then, scum.” He growled back, but he couldn’t conjure up the normal malice. He was too distracted by the little square of paper resting in the palm of his hand.

His retainers and Ryoma were there to greet him when he got off the ship. Oboro was carrying Fujin Yumi for him, and he was more than a little relieved that Anna hadn’t decided to pawn it for a quick buck.

He clung to it and the square of paper like his life depended on it. He didn’t want to slip it into his pocket in case it fell out and he lost it forever, but he didn’t want to open a message from the  _ Nohrian Prince  _ in front of his retainers and his family.

“How was the trip, milord?” Oboro smiled at him sunnily and handed back the bow.

“It was… Nice.” He answered sheepishly in return.

“Nice?” Hinata butted in. “Anna showed us the pictures, you looked like you were having a blast!”

His eyebrows knitted together and he frowned. Of course those dumb pictures made it back here somehow. He was definitely expecting some teasing from a few of the soldiers about how they thought their serious little prince couldn’t be so giddy about anything.

“You looked so cute in those miniature leggings! Did the pockets work out alright?”

“Yes, they were perfect Oboro. Thank you.”

She grinned back happily. “Of course, milord.”

“You didn’t have any trouble with Prince Leo, did you?” His brother finally piped up. He gestured with his arm and they all started walking back toward camp.

“No, of course not.” He replied without missing a beat. It probably helped that he’d practiced this in his head a thousand times on the boat. “Anna made sure he kept far away from me.”

It wasn’t necessarily a lie. She had intentionally booked them rooms at the opposite end of the hall, taken away their weapons, and ensured they were kept apart for the first few days… But that didn’t mean they  _ stayed  _ apart once she left.

As soon as they got back he hid whatever it was Leo gave him under the pillow of his cot so it would be safe, but he wasn’t able to read it until late that night when he was in his sleeping yukata. He unfolded it and took a look, but it took him a minute to decipher. It was… A map? It was pretty small, of one specific area of the border not too far from either of their camps. A small section of trees was circled and the word “midnight” was written beside a crude drawing of a full moon.

He had to think for a moment: the next full moon was in a couple of days. Was Leo trying to meet up with him again? He thought they’d agreed that the island was it… But he  _ wanted  _ to see Leo again…

“Milord?”

Takumi nearly jumped out of his skin. He crumpled the map in his hands quickly so Hinata wouldn’t see it.

“Gods, Hinata… Can you at least  _ try  _ to ask before coming in?”

“Sorry! I just wanted to know if you needed anything!” The brunette eyed the crumpled piece of paper suspiciously. “You aren’t taking your work to bed with you again, are you?”

He said it so brightly, Takumi felt bad turning him away. “No, it’s not that. I was just… Writing Sakura a letter. You just startled me, is all. I don’t need anything right now.”

“I just figured since you spent two weeks alone you might want some... Company.”

He put a lot of emphasis on the word company, as if Takumi wouldn’t get the implication. He sat down on the cot next to him and brushed his loose hair behind his ear. Takumi smacked his hand away.

“I said that I didn’t need  _ anything _ , Hinata.”

Takumi’s sexual appetite was voracious, to say the least. Normally he’d have jumped Hinata’s bones the second he got back but… Well, he just didn’t want it. He was more satisfied than he’d ever felt in his life and, well, the prospect of seeing Leo again was far more exciting than whatever Hinata was offering.

“Is everything alright?”

“Maybe I just want to go one night without a knot in me!”

“Is it your heat coming? I thought that wouldn’t be for awhile now?”

“Look, I just don’t want to, okay?” He hated hurting Hinata, but he just couldn’t fake it tonight. He didn’t think his facade would hold up if his retainer managed to get him into bed.

“... Alright, I’ll be outside if you need anything.”

The brunette was half way out of the tent when Takumi called him back.

“Hinata… I’m sorry. I’m just really not in the mood tonight, okay?”

“It’s not a problem, milord. You aren’t obligated to give me anything.”

He felt bad. He loved Hinata... He was a good retainer and a great friend, but it just wasn’t fair to him when Takumi was thinking about someone else.


	7. Chapter 7

He had no idea what had possessed him to give that map to Takumi… To tell him that he  _ loved him _ , not that the Omega had understood what he said. At some point during that last week he’d started thinking of Takumi as  _ his _ , and he didn’t want to let go. He wanted to keep the beautiful, silver haired Omega with the quick tongue and the knack for strategy for himself for as long as he possibly could. It was selfish, but Leo had always been a selfish man.

The location wasn’t random; Leo came here often whenever he couldn’t sleep. He needed to pick a location that could be pointed out on a map, but that he knew well enough to get to by himself, and by virtue of his own insomnia this was the place. The little clearing was a liminal space -- Not Hoshidan but not quite Nohrian either. It was ambiguous enough that no one would question their presence there… Or they would both be dead if caught by the enemy.

It was the only place one could cross from Nohr to Hoshido by land, since the bridges across the bottomless canyon had been severed. Naturally, it quickly devolved into a war zone. Any infantry or mounted units were deployed here, and their two countries had been locked stalemate ever since.

He wasn’t really expecting Takumi to show up… It  _ was  _  a rather risky location, after all. But  _ gods  _ was he hoping that he did. He settled under the shadow of a nearby tree and watched the night pass itself by.

It was just past midnight when he heard him. The sure-footed Hoshidan was picking his way through the woods as quickly and quietly as possible. There was only the occasional crack of a twig or leaf as he made his way through the trees, and if Leo hadn’t seen the flash of hair or the occasional glow of his bow string then he might have assumed it was an animal.

Takumi stepped into the clearing, and Leo was ready for him. He flipped the pages of his tome open and caught him around the ankle with a vine and suddenly tripped him up. The Hoshidan thrashed and fought as they quickly wrapped around his arms and legs and completely immobilized him.

“L-Leo?” The Omega cried out as he quickly realized the helplessness of his situation. “I-Is that you?!”

Takumi’s voice was high and taut, just barely hiding his fear. His grip on the vines wavered in just the slightest when he caught sight of the pure, unadulterated panic in the Omega’s eyes. He wanted to set the scene properly, but the last thing Leo wanted to do was scare him.

“I’m here.” He softened for just a moment, and the Hoshidan visibly relaxed.

“Don’t do tha-- Mmf!” Leo directed one of the vines to gag him, but he was still keeping a close eye on his body language. He seemed fine now; He even appeared to be enjoying himself.

He’d never used Brynhildr to this extent before, but he was loving the challenge so far. It took a lot of finesse to direct so many vines -- and ensure he didn’t accidentally crush Takumi -- all at once. He pushed and prodded and pulled at Takumi’s clothes solely using the vines until the Omega was stark naked. Leo hid the clothes nearby, out of Takumi’s sight. Intact and accessible, but the Hoshidan didn’t need to know where.

The vines curled around his wrists and over his nipples so he was standing straight up, back bowed forward. He also wrapped them around Takumi’s ankle and pulled up, so he was balancing precariously on one foot with his other leg high in the air. He was pleased to see that Takumi was already hard, cock ring firmly in place and slick leaking out around the small metal plug in his ass. He wished he could do more with the vines, but he didn’t trust himself not to hurt Takumi without a little more practice.

“You’re still wearing them. Good.” He snapped Brynhildr shut and the vines dissolved. Takumi stumbled to his knees.

“I… I always wear them for master…”

Finally he stepped out of the shadows and beckoned the Omega over to him. “Good, let master reward you.”

Leo knelt down on the ground and pulled him into his lap. He loved the way Takumi’s body was so pliant in his hands. The lightest touch had him shivering and biting his lip.

“I missed you, my pet.” He whispered it against the shell of Takumi’s ear. He stroked along his spine and reveled in the way his fingertips left goosebumps in their wake.

“I-It’s only been a few days, sir…” He gasped when Leo wrapped a hand around the base of his cock and and stroked him slowly from the ring around the base to the tip. Takumi thrust his hips upward into Leo’s hand, but the Alpha nipped that in the bud with a quick slap to his ass. The Omega whimpered, but he stilled.

“Oh? Are you saying you didn’t miss your master?”

“Ngh… O-Of course not!” Leo could tell he was trying his best, but he bucked his hips into his hand again. Leo corrected him with another smack.

“Careful, another outburst like that and Master will have to seriously punish you.”

“Sorry, sir…” He obediently folded his hands behind his back and allowed Leo to tease him. He leaned in and took one of Takumi’s nipples into his mouth, nipping and sucking at the soft bud while his hand stroked his neglected cock.

The Omega threw his head back. Leo wanted to tease him more… But he also wanted to grab him and throw him down… To nip and bite and  _ possess  _ him. The latter instinct won out and he shoved Takumi down onto his back.

The Omega hit the dirt with a thud and let out a muffled ‘Hey!’, but Leo pounced on him. He grabbed him by the waist and crashed their lips together.

“ _ Mine. _ ” He muttered whenever he came up for air. Maybe it was his stupid Alpha instincts, but he didn’t  _ just  _ love Takumi. He wanted to keep him all to himself. He wanted to take him back to camp and lock him away so nothing could hurt him. He wanted to keep him safe and protected, hidden away from all of the conflict and violence.

Leo pulled away, face inches from the Omega’s. Takumi was looking up at him expectantly; His ponytail had fallen out and his hair was splayed out on the ground around his head like a pillow. Leo gently stroked a thumb over his neck, just above his collar.

“ _ I love you. _ ” He said it again, still in the Nohrian tongue. Takumi cocked his head to the side and raised an eyebrow, but Leo covered his lips with a kiss before he could ask. He didn’t know if he  _ could  _ answer those questions. For the Hoshidan this was probably just a passing fancy: Nothing but pure lust.

He wasn’t sure if he could deal with the heartbreak if he found out for sure, so for now he would just pretend the Omega understood.

Leo pinned Takumi’s wrists with one hand and pulled his pants down with the other. He could barely keep himself composed long enough to tease the plug out: it was a quick, hard fuck that left Takumi gasping and writhing beneath him. Truly, he wasn’t much focused on the sex itself, but the man beneath him. Every snap of his hips, every moan, every whimper… Watching him was intoxicating.

He popped his knot after no time at all; It was almost an embarrassingly short amount of time considering their previous sessions. He reached between their bodies and stroked the Omega’s cock until he came.

Leo loved the way Takumi looked under the soft light of the full moon. His silver hair bleached white and his amber eyes glowing. He was so beautiful he was almost ethereal.

He could have stared at the man for hours, but unfortunately the fantasy was over as soon as his knot deflated and the Hoshidan prince wriggled out from underneath him.

“Can I have my clothes back now?”

“Oh, I don’t know. I rather like the way you look.” He stifled his disappointment.

“Well you can  _ like  _ it all you want, but I’m going to freeze to death if you don’t give me  _ something _ to wear.”

Leo rolled his eyes. “Suit yourself. They’re behind that tree over there.”

He could have gotten them himself, but then he wouldn’t have gotten to see Takumi saunter over there completely naked with  _ his _ semen running down his inner thigh. Just that sight alone ignited some primal urge in the Alpha that he was desperately trying to suppress.

“Says the Alpha that won’t even take his clothes off when we have sex.” He shot back as he pulled the fabric over his head.

“I rather like it, don’t you? Really adds to the power dynamic.”

The Omega just snorted in response. Leo tucked himself back into his pants and laid back on the grass while Takumi got dressed. He turned his eyes to the cloudy sky listlessly. When Takumi was done he laid back down beside him and Leo wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

“What’re you looking at?”

He struggled to find something to say other than  _ I wasn’t looking at anything, I was just trying not to think about how beautiful our pups would be. _

“Nothing much. I was hoping we could see some constellations, but it’s cloudy tonight.” He finished lamely.

“Mm, I’m afraid I don’t know much about astronomy.”

“Maybe we’ll have a clear night soon. I can show you.”

“You want to do this again? I mean, you want to keep meeting?”

His heart stopped in his chest. He’d been hoping that Takumi would bring up the idea of meeting again.

“I… Yes. I’m sorry, was I mistaken in assuming that you would want to as well?”

“N-No! Not at all!” The Omega sighed against his neck. “I just wanted to be sure…”

Takumi nuzzled into his chest and closed his eyes. Leo let him be until his breathing started evening out and he was worried he had fallen asleep.

“Hey…” He nudged him gently. “Don’t fall asleep, we still need to get back to our camps.”

He meant to leave when they were done, but the Omega looked so sweet snuggled into his side with his eyes barely open. Leo leaned over and kissed him on the top of the head.

Takumi simply groaned in response. “I’m going to have to clean up before I go back and I am  _ not  _ looking forward to a dip in the freezing cold river… Can we please stay here for awhile?”

He knew he should say no. He knew he should shove the Omega off of him and walk away… But he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

“Of course we can.”

* * *

 

He and Takumi ended up lying there together for another two hours. They debated the merits of certain battle strategies until the Omega was yawning so much he could barely get a word in edgewise. Leo dragged himself back to camp, exhausted but no more so than usual. Niles was, of course, waiting for him at his tent when he arrived just before the crack of dawn.

“Well, well, look what the cat dragged in. Did you have fun last night, milord?”

Leo’s paused for a fraction of a second. Did Niles know? Was he followed?

_ No. No, Niles is just being Niles. He does this all the time, you just never had anything to hide before. _

“As much fun as one can have when they can’t sleep. If you’ll excuse me, I’m going back to my tent.”

“Are you sure? You’re not hiding any late night trysts from me, are you?” He leaned in close and smirked at him. “I’m sure I smelled an Omega on you when you came in~”

“Niles, please!” He shoved the albino man away from him quickly.There was a good chance he did still have Takumi’s scent clinging to him, and he wasn’t too keen on his retainer discovering his dirty little secret. “Did we not  _ just  _ have a conversation about personal space?”

“Oho, you don’t want me to know about him? Or her, I won’t judge.” The way he said it, Leo wasn’t entirely sure Niles  _ didn’t  _ know exactly what was going on. His retainer could be rather perceptive when he wanted to be.

Then again, that could just be Niles being Niles. It was really hard to tell with him.

He brushed off the other Alpha and went into his tent. “I’m going to try to get some sleep. Please don’t disturb me unless absolutely necessary.”

He couldn’t sleep after that. Sure, he could count upon Niles for his silence if he found out… But if anyone else in the army discovered what he was doing with the Hoshidan prince then he’d be done for. He’d be strung up for being a traitor to his country. Xander would likely try to support him, but the word of the crown prince could only go so far. Especially since their father would certainly want his head as well.

For the first time since leaving the island Leo was beginning to have serious doubts. Those dark thoughts swam around his head for hours. He even considered never going back but… Well picturing Takumi’s disappointed face when he didn’t show up was more upsetting than the image of being hanged, beheaded, or shot with an arrow.

It didn’t take him hours of deliberation to know that he would risk all of that in a heartbeat. Country and family and life be damned... Takumi was worth it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all sorry its a little late, things are pretty crazy. I can't promise there will be an update next week, but hopefully I'll get my shit together!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a side note, since this is an AU that doesn't include Corrin I feel like I should clarify some things. First, no Anankos plot line. So no Valla, and Azura isn't in this either. I've also decided to exclude Odin, Selena, and Laslow because their presence doesn't really make sense without the Anankos plot line.

He was yawning his way through meetings all day, but he was still awake and ready to leave as midnight approached. He looked over the map one more time before stuffing it quickly into his pocket. He was pretty sure he knew the way by now, but it never hurt to double check. The moon had just begun to wane, so there was still plenty of light to travel by, but the last thing he wanted was to accidentally stumble into Nohrian territory.

By now pretty much everyone in the army was asleep, aside from a few guards and lookouts. Easily avoided if he knew where to look, and of course he did. He’d positioned many of them himself. Takumi picked up Fujin Yumi and pushed aside the flap of his tent, intent on getting out of there before anyone could sense him.

Hinata, the ever faithful retainer that he was, was standing outside of his tent. He was still dressed in his usual battle garb, katana at his hip and eyes scanning the horizon. When Takumi emerged from the tent he snapped to attention.

“Milord? What are you doing out of bed?”

“Erm… I was just… Using the bathroom.” He said lamely. Hinata eyed him suspiciously. He was still wearing his full clothes… And who brought a bow with them to the bathroom, anyways? Well, Takumi did, but who could blame him? It was his most prized possession.

“Would you like me to accompany you?” Of course his retainer wouldn’t point out the obvious, but that almost made Takumi feel worse about lying to him. Hinata’s voice quieted down and he leaned in closer. “Are you worried about the nightmares again? I can stay with you tonight if you like… Or I can get Oboro?”

“N-No!” He said it a little too quickly, and Hinata looked taken aback. “I mean, that won’t be necessary. I already told you that I don’t need a guard, so go back to your tent and get some sleep alright?”

“What kind of retainer would I be if I let you get hurt? Someone should be guarding you.”

Sometimes he hated how overbearing his retainers could be. He loved them both to death, but he couldn’t help wondering if they would show him the same concern if he were an Alpha instead.

“Hinata…” He said it quietly, but firmly. “That was an order.”

“... Yes milord.” He lingered uncertainly before he headed in the direction of his tent, but after a few steps he turned around again. “You would tell me if there was something wrong, wouldn’t you?”

Takumi’s mouth went dry. “Yes… Of course I would.”

His retainer simply smiled brightly and waved. “Alright then. Good night, Prince Takumi.”

He waited until Hinata was out of sight, and the shame rose, unbidden, in his chest. Not for the first time he wondered if meeting with Leo was worth it. He was an attractive Omega, it wasn’t as if sexual partners were hard to come by…

There was something about the blonde Alpha, though. He didn’t have a name for it, and he couldn’t describe it… But it was  _ something. _ He wanted -- no,  _ needed  _ \-- to know more, so he steeled his resolve and headed off in the direction of the woods. He weaved easily through the trees and his feet thudded on the soft, dirt ground as he picked his way over twigs and branches.

He arrived at the clearing in no time at all, and Leo was already waiting there for him. He was simply sitting in the center of the clearing, eyes turned up at the sky. The moon was just barely peeking out from underneath the cloud cover, and the pale Nohrian looked almost sickly under its light. The dark bags beneath his eyes stood out starkly against his nearly white face, and Takumi had to wonder when the last time he slept was.

“I was starting to think that you weren’t coming. It’s getting rather late.”

“Geez, how do you always manage to get here before me?” It was true, in the handful of times they’d met here Leo was, without fail, always there first.

The Alpha snorted humorlessly. “My retainer is accustomed to me leaving in the middle of the night… And maybe people just question an Alpha leaving camp less.”

Takumi sat down beside him and turned his eyes upwards as well. His shoulder bumped the Alpha’s, and he set his hand down a few inches from his. He thought he saw Leo’s hand twitch uncertainly, but he couldn’t be sure.

“Still looking out for constellations?”

“I’m afraid it won’t be happening any time soon… We’re probably too close to the Nohrian side of the border for these clouds to clear up.”

He didn’t sound too disappointed by that fact, and Takumi couldn’t help but notice that the Alpha wasn’t paying any mind to the sky anymore. Instead his crimson eyes were fixed on him, and he had to suppress his natural urge to hide his face.

“Guess we’ll just have to find some other way to occupy the time then, huh?” The insinuation was obvious, but Leo just laid back on the grass and folded his arms beneath his head.

“I’m too tired for that, Takumi.” He patted the dirt beside him as an invitation to lie down. He did so, and rested his cheek on Leo’s chest. The Alpha wrapped an arm around him.

“So I came all the way out here for nothing?” He asked, the slightest twinge of disappointment creeping into his voice.

“I’m not good enough company for you?”

Takumi sighed. That wasn’t it  _ at all.  _ Leo was great company… A little too good. He’d never been bored or displeased when speaking with Leo; At least not after they’d started their…  _ Physical relationship. _ But therein lay the problem: It wasn’t  _ just  _ a physical relationship anymore, no matter how hard Takumi tried to trick himself into thinking it was.

The truth was he’d grown… Attached. It wasn’t uncommon, sometimes things like that happened when he slept with the same Alpha multiple times. But Leo… Well Leo was a little different. With the previous Alphas he didn’t remember spacing out during meetings or anxiously waiting for the sun to go down. He didn’t remember fantasizing about their scent when he had a moment alone in his tent. At least when they had sex he could pretend that’s all it was about  but… Well they’d never  _ just _ sat and talked before.

“Don’t be ridiculous. I was just under the impression that you only kept me around to have a place to holster your knot.” He chuckled at the joke, but Leo wasn’t laughing. The arm around his shoulders tightened and Leo squeezed him to his chest.

“Never,  _ αγάπη μου. _ ”

Takumi had no idea what he said, but it held a certain weight to it that settled in the air around them and wasn’t easily dispersed. He’d learned better than to ask the Alpha what the words meant; Leo just dodged around the answer until he gave up. He could reasonably be assured that it wasn’t negative at least, just based on how Leo was looking at him in that moment.

He turned his face away from the Alpha and sighed. “What is Nohr like, then?”

“Why the sudden interest?”

He shrugged. Despite the war between their two countries, Takumi had never really been to Nohr before. They were careful never to venture too far into Nohrian territory, no matter how aggressively the Nohrians pushed their borders. The only things he knew about their neighbors were a few tidbits about the landscapes and whatever propaganda and rumors were spread throughout the army.

“You have me at a bit of a disadvantage, Leo. I’m afraid you probably know much more about Hoshido than I do about Nohr.”

The Alpha sighed. “Not necessarily. It’s not as if I’ve been there.”

“So… What do you know about Hoshido, then?”

“Not much, I’m afraid. I know that it’s quite a bit more pleasant than Nohr weather-wise… It’s very common for the propaganda to paint the Hoshidan people as spoiled and lazy…”

“Oh really? Spoiled and lazy? As opposed to what, warmongering scum?” He spat it out before he could think twice about it. He knew Nohrians had poor impressions of his people but… Well it hurt more to hear those thoughts parroted through Leo.

Was that all he was to the prince? A spoiled Omega that he could use until he got bored?

“Calm down.” The Alpha’s voice hardened. “I didn’t say I  _ believed  _ the propaganda. I do have a mind of my own. Is that really how you all view us?”

Takumi almost felt a little bad for assuming the worst of the Alpha, but he’d been subjected to Nohrians with superiority complexes for years now.

“Why wouldn’t we? You’ve never stopped pushing our borders. Our countries have been at war for a decade, and who has always been the aggressor?” That wasn’t mentioning the decades of hatred that led up to their current war.

“I don’t expect a Hoshidan to understand why we do this.”

“Well why do you then?”

“Our people are malcontent and starving. Hoshido has resources that would calm them, but my father is too proud or too stupid to create an alliance or trade agreements.”

Takumi was taken aback, hearing Leo talk about his own blood like that. Sure, his own father hadn’t been perfect, but Takumi would never dare refer to him as  _ stupid. _

“But  _ why?” _

The Alpha sighed. “Trust me,  _ αγάπη μου,  _ It’s too complicated to explain. King Garon is a stubborn man, okay? Now…” The arm around him squeezed him tight for a second. “Let’s talk about something lighter. We don’t have all night, you know.”

“... Alright.”

* * *

 

Takumi was so exhausted because not long after he found himself falling asleep on Leo’s chest. The Alpha didn’t seem to mind much, because he woke up just before dawn cold and stiff with his back pressed against Leo’s chest.

“Shit…” He muttered, rubbing his bleary eyes. “Shit, I have to get back to camp!”

He tried to extricate himself from the Alpha’s arms, but Leo had a firm grip around him. The blonde mumbled something he didn’t quite catch and nuzzled his hair.

“Leo..! I have to go!” Panic was slowly creeping into his voice. If he didn’t get back to camp soon then he’d be dodging search parties. Ryoma was very over protective of him… It’d taken a lot to even be allowed on the battlefield. If he went missing all night then he’d be taking a one-way trip back to Shirasagi by nightfall.

The Alpha seemed to come to his senses and his grip slackened. Takumi wiggled out and brushed himself off quickly. He wouldn’t have enough time to wash Leo’s scent off, but hopefully he wouldn’t look like he spent the night in the dirt.

Leo stood up as well and grabbed him by the wrist just as he turned to go. The blonde kissed him on the forehead quickly.

“Be safe on your way back, alright?”

Takumi nodded in response. “Y-Yeah, of course.”

He hurried back to camp as quickly as possible and tried to ignore the weird feeling settling in the pit of his stomach.

* * *

 

He managed to make it back to his tent undetected. He was hoping that just changing clothes would be enough since they hadn’t had sex last night, and he was expected in an early morning strategy meeting with Ryoma.

He sighed with relief and pulled the flap of his tent back, but he startled when he was met with the steely gaze of his blue-haired retainer.

“Oboro! What are you doing here?”

“What am I doing here? What are you  _ not  _ doing here?” She gestured to the empty cot. “I was this close to calling Prince Ryoma to come find you!”

His heart sank. “You didn’t, right?”

She sighed. As angry as she was, she knew how much this meant to him. She wouldn’t risk getting him sent home unless she absolutely had to.  “No, of course I didn’t. But you had me worried! Where were you all night? Hinata said you didn’t come back to your tent at all!”

“It’s nothing Oboro, I just slipped out early to train because I couldn’t sleep.” It was a weak lie, and they both knew it. He could barely keep himself awake these last few days, and he positively  _ reeked  _ of Alpha.

“Milord… I know you’ve been going out. Did you find a new Alpha? You know I don’t mind, but I just want you to be honest with me. And Hinata.”

His other retainer had stopped trying to spend the night with him entirely after a few failed attempts, and he felt a little guilty about it. He’d always told his retainers which Alphas he slept with. But that just wasn’t possible in this case. Oboro especially hated Nohrians, and there was  no telling what she would do if she found out.

He didn’t know what to say, but he wanted to get her out of there before she could identify exactly  _ which  _ Alpha’s scent was clinging to his clothes. The thought of  _ anyone _ , even his most trusted friends discovering his relationship with Leo had him in a blind panic. They wouldn’t betray him, but if they did it wasn’t just his  _ pride  _ at stake, it was potentially his  _ life. _

“Oboro, you don’t have to babysit me, okay? I’m an Omega, not a child. It’s absolutely  _ none of your business  _ what I do, or who I do it with.”

She looked surprised, but he had to double down. He couldn’t risk her finding out that he was seeing the second prince of Nohr. He couldn’t risk anyone finding out, ever.

“I..!” She sputtered for a moment. Her face melted briefly into that death glare that terrified so many others before she composed herself. “I have  _ never _ cared about your… Your status! I can’t believe you think so lowly of me!”

She picked up her naginata and brushed past him, bumping his shoulder on the way out.

“When you’re ready to talk about what’s going on with you, you know where I’ll be!” She snapped over her shoulder. “ _ Prince  _ Takumi.”

He hoped she’d be able to forgive him, though somehow he doubted that was going to happen any time soon. He’d never been so dismissive of her before. In all of their years serving him, they’d never brought up his status as an Omega or used it against him in any way. He felt like a complete and utter asshole implying that she cared about it but… Well he didn’t know what to do.

He just shook his head and started getting changed for his meeting. His retainers put up with a lot for him, and he just hoped that this wouldn’t be her breaking point.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all sorry this took a little while. I know it's not Friday but it's been almost two weeks and I really wanted to get this out there. Life kind of kicked my ass the last couple of weeks, but hopefully life should go back to normal!


	9. Chapter 9

Leo was wringing his hands nervously. Every minute Takumi wasn’t with him he was anxiously wondering how he was doing… What he was doing, who he was doing it with... If he was okay, if he’d been sleeping well, if he’d been harassed by any Alphas… He’d never been  _ in love  _ before, and every second of it was absolute torture.

He’d told himself that their relationship could never be anything more than casually hooking up. Takumi would find some Hoshidan Alpha, or Prince Ryoma would use him for a marriage alliance before long. But that didn’t stop him from going over every single scenario that had even the  _ slightest  _ possibility of them staying together.

They hadn’t met every night since they’d gotten back, but it was most nights. Leo still came, even if Takumi didn’t. The few nights Takumi hadn’t made an appearance were long, anxiety-fueled nights.  _ Is he just not coming, or did he get captured? Is this the only night he’s not coming, or is he done with me for good now? _ The moon was well past it’s apex and Takumi still hadn’t shown up, so it was looking like one of those nights.

The Omega had probably just fallen asleep. At least, that’s what the rational part of his brain tried to tell him. Leo couldn’t blame him. These were late nights, and they’d met almost every night for the last month. He couldn’t fault the Hoshidan prince for wanting to get some sleep.

He tucked his arm behind his head and stared up at the treetops. The lines between the leaves and the sky were blurred together by storm clouds: Another starless night. They were nearly to another full moon, but the world around him was pitch black, save a few specks of light peeking out from behind the darkness.

He knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight. At least the weather was warming up, so he could sit comfortably out in the open. It never got so warm in the capital; It was a welcome change of pace. It was a relief to be able to sit outside and just  _ think _ , away from the war and his responsibilities. Even if Takumi wasn’t there to share in it.

His mind quickly drifted back to him, as it often did these days. It was incessant, and a bit obnoxious just like the Hoshidan himself. He was starting to wonder what exactly he thought about before his silver-haired Omega plagued his every waking thought.

_ I could make him my mate… _

It wasn’t the first time he’d had that thought, and he doubted it would be the last. Every time he saw the Hoshidan Prince he couldn’t help but hate that stupid collar around his neck. He wanted to tear it off and claim him. Sink his teeth into his neck and bond him so he could keep him safe and secure.

He had to stop that line of thought. He was already getting hot under the collar just thinking about it. Besides, he couldn’t imagine forcing the obstinate Omega into mating with him. Takumi would hate him for the rest of their lives together, and that was if he was lucky and the Hoshidan didn’t put an arrow in his neck.

_ Would he even want to be my mate? Would he even understand what it meant? _

Nohr was not kind to its Omegas, that was for sure. Takumi would probably be relegated to a life of rearing his pups, keeping his house, and dangling off of his arm at parties like some kind of trophy. It wasn’t something he could see him being okay with, if King Garon allowed him to live long enough to see it through.

Hell, Leo didn’t even know if Takumi  _ wanted  _ pups. For all he knew, the Omega was perfectly content to spend the rest of his life on the battlefield, flitting from one Alpha to the next purely for pleasure. Sure, he kept coming back to see Leo, but that didn’t mean he  _ loved  _ him. It just meant that he was a good lay.

He tried to push that thought from his mind as well. He wasn’t usually taken with romantic flights of fancy, but he wanted to keep believing that Takumi felt  _ something  _ for him. At least, until the Omega told him otherwise. It was a recipe for heartbreak, he knew. But he was too much of a coward to ask directly. He was going to lose Takumi eventually. That was just a fact. He’d rather lose him later rather than sooner, and confessing his  _ love  _ was a sure way to scare him off.

In fact, none of this plotting or fantasizing meant anything if Takumi didn’t feel the same for him. He could come up with the most foolproof plans, he could convince his father, his brother, his people… But it all meant nothing if Takumi didn’t love him back.

The longer he thought on it, the more outlandish his ideas became. He didn’t believe any of them would truly happen, but they were an endless source of amusement.

_ The war could end. Father could die and I could offer to take Prince Takumi as my mate… As a sort of a peace offering. _

It wasn’t completely impossible. King Garon  _ was  _ starting to decline fairly rapidly. No doubt they would be halting the war effort to plan Xander’s coronation within a few years… But even if they ended the war, Xander would probably be taking a Hoshidan mate instead of him. It might be considered an insult to ask for Takumi’s hand when Xander was still a bachelor, and a half-Hoshidan heir to the throne would be more preferable to Prince Ryoma than a simple marriage alliance… But then again, Xander already had his heir by a concubine at the behest of their father. The last thing their country needed was a succession crisis. It would undoubtedly be messy either way, so he tucked it away in his ‘ridiculous fantasies’ folder and moved on.

_ I could get him pregnant… That would solve two problems: The royal family can’t marry him off if he’s carrying a bastard, and no one in Nohr would dare touch a pregnant Omega. Of course, I have no way of knowing when his heats are and no way of forcing him to meet me when he’s close to one. _

That last one was more for personal fantasy than anything. He’d never given much thought to his future heirs, but lately he’d been thinking about what it would be like to have them with the fiery Hoshidan. Gods, he would be beautiful with his skin glowing and his stomach heavy… Maybe he could even coax an enthusiastic smile or two out of him. Maybe the sullen prince secretly had a soft spot for children and he would be just as overjoyed as Leo would be.

Maybe one of their pups -- they would have multiple, of course -- would have Takumi’s eyes instead of his own. Soft, amber eyes instead of his intimidating ruby color. Maybe all of their children would look just like their mama, and they could leave Leo’s messed up family and their legacy behind.

He took note of the sky again; About an hour had passed since he started this, and Takumi still hadn’t arrived. Leo  picked himself up off of the ground and started heading back to camp, heart just a little heavier than it had been before he left.

 

* * *

 

Niles was, as usual, awake and awaiting his return at the edge of camp. Leo raised a hand -- partly in greeting and partly so his retainer didn’t accidentally mistake him for a threat and shoot him in the eye -- as he wandered back toward their small cluster of tents.

“Oh, he didn’t show up tonight did he?”

His voice was laced with mock disappointment. He lazily twirled an arrow between his fingers, like he wasn’t talking about his lord’s sex life. Sometimes Leo wondered why he hadn’t listened to Xander’s concerns about taking on the former thief as a retainer.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Niles.”

His retainer had been persistent in his observations, and Leo was becoming masterful at brushing them off. He doubted Niles knew anything about Takumi specifically. Even if he did come back smelling like Omega sometimes, so what? He’d taken Omega partners before, so it wasn’t as if it was unusual for him to return smelling like one. Granted those were usually villagers and not the second prince of Hoshido, but it was nothing Niles hadn’t seen or dealt with before.

“I get it, I get it, you want to keep him all for yourself.” The dark skinned man winked at him, which was a feat considering the eyepatch. “But don’t worry, I’m ready to listen whenever you’re ready to spill.”

“Thank you Niles, but I really do just need to get to bed.”

“Of course, Milord. And hey, if you ever want to introduce me…” He licked his lips sensually and leaned in a fraction of an inch closer. “Well, let’s just say I don’t mind  _ sharing _ .”

He just rolled his eyes in response. In truth he wanted to tell Niles, but he didn’t want to risk hurting Takumi. He it wasn’t that he didn’t trust his retainer -- no, not in the least. But it wasn’t exactly private in the woods among thousands of soldiers, and only one person need overhear to put his or Takumi’s life at serious risk.

So for now, he would keep silent. Niles didn’t seem to mind angry, at least. Just disappointed and frustrated that he didn’t get to know all of the drama.

“Well, get some rest. You wouldn’t want to be tired for him tomorrow night, would you? That is, if he shows tomorrow.”

Again, Leo just brushed past him and made his way to his tent.

 

* * *

 

 

He woke up several hours later to a messenger outside of his tent. There was light already streaming through the canvas, and he was surprised that he hadn’t been woken up by it earlier. He swore under his breath; How late into the morning was it?

“Milord?”

“What?” He massaged his temples with the tips of his fingers and sighed. At least he’d slept, though he detested sleeping in.

“Prince Xander requests your presence in the war tent.”

“Thank you, you’re dismissed.”

He dragged himself out of bed as quickly as possible and called Niles in to help him get dressed. He didn’t necessarily  _ need  _ to wear his armor, but he did want to look at least  _ somewhat _ put together, and he couldn’t exactly do all of the buckles on his own. It took longer than he would have liked; Niles liked to take his time and make all manner of inappropriate comments for the duration, but before too long he was quickly striding over to the war tent where Xander was waiting.

“Ah, I see you’re finally awake.” He said it sternly, but there was an element of humor behind his eyes that told Leo he wasn’t serious. There was no one else in the tent with them. He was a little thankful, as the rest of the soldiers weren’t present to witness his unkempt appearance… But that did beg the question: Why was he here?

“Why didn’t you wake me sooner?”

“You haven’t slept in a month. I wanted to let you rest for as long as possible, but I’m afraid this can’t wait.”

If only his brother knew he’d been spending the past month in the company of their greatest enemy instead of sleeping… Maybe he wouldn’t be so accommodating then. He and Xander were close -- all of them were really -- but even his brother’s tolerance had limits. He tried to put the thought out of his mind.

“Is it another message from Elise?” Their sister was currently in the capital caring for their father, and she occasionally sent messages about his condition. They almost never contained good news.

“No, this one is directly from father. He thinks our campaign is taking too long; We need to push the Hoshidans harder.”

“Push harder? We have neither the troops nor the supplies for that, Xander.” He would know, he’d been agonizing over their logistics for months now. Troops and supplies from the crown were getting harder to come by as the war dragged on.

“I’m aware, brother. He says he’ll be sending more troops to bolster our ranks soon.”

“Gods… I hope so.”

Xander didn’t sound very enthusiastic about the concept, and he doubted that he did either. They both knew that there was little point to continuing this campaign, but father wasn’t going to let up until they’d gained some ground. If it were up to Leo they would have packed up and gone home a long time ago, or they would have at least scaled back. But Xander would never go against their father’s wishes despite his declining physical and mental health.

He already had the beginnings of a headache, and he hadn’t even been conscious for an hour. That, and he had his own personal reasons for opposing this push. If they started an all out campaign against the Hoshidans then Takumi would almost definitely be in the fray, and Leo didn’t want to risk him getting hurt.

He considered warning him as he walked back to his tent, but in the end he decided against it despite his primal instinct screaming  _ protect, protect, protect  _ in the back of his mind. He loved Takumi, but he also knew him well enough to know that he would never sideline himself. If he informed him of their plans it would enable the Hoshidans to mount a defense, and Takumi would still be in harm’s way. No, there was nothing he could do short of kidnapping the Omega and locking him away from all of the fighting. And he wasn’t going to do  _ that  _ for the obvious reasons.

He needed to see him, and soon.

 

 

* * *

 

It took two more nights for Takumi to appear at their usual meeting place. Leo was starting to get worried; They’d never gone so long without seeing each other. It had only been three days, but it felt like an eternity to the troubled Alpha.

The second he entered the clearing Leo grabbed him around the waist and pulled him tight to his chest. He drank in the scent of sea breezes and warm air and  _ Takumi. _ He reveled in the feel of his strong but slender body and his soft hair against his chin and the little, excited puffs of breath against his neck and absolutely  _ everything  _ about him.

“Leo!” He tensed up in his arms. “You can’t just grab me like that! Geez, do you know how frayed my nerves are every time I have to run through the dark like this!”

“I’m sorry  _ my love,  _ I just couldn’t help myself.” The words rattled around in his head.  _ My love. I love you. _ He mentally chanted it over and over as the Omega pushed him away and crossed his arms defiantly. He was still too much of a coward to say it in their shared tongue even though he wanted to scream it to the world, in every language he knew, until everyone knew that Takumi was irrevocably  _ his.  _ But as it stood he couldn’t even tell  _ Takumi  _ that, how could he tell the world?

So instead he swallowed his feelings and he made pleasantries. “How have you been? Where have you been?”

“Yeah… About that…” He trailed off, grabbing a fistfull of his ponytail and tugging uncertainly. “We need to talk about these meetings.”

Leo’s heart dropped into the pit of his stomach. So, this was it. This was when Takumi finally called it off. Told him that he was nothing more than a fun time, but he was also an inconvenience and he could find a good lay anywhere. This was when Takumi would break his heart.

“What about these meetings?”

He tried his best to sound strong, aloof, but his voice cracked a bit as he said it. He didn’t want Takumi to know just how much he could hurt him with a single word.

“Look, people are starting to notice. Oboro hasn’t spoken more than five words to me in three weeks, and she’s the least of my worries.”

“Do you want them to stop?” He braced himself for the rejection. The inevitable. So, color him surprised at Takumi’s next assertion.

“No.”

There was no hesitation, no thought. The Omega didn’t even blink before that one, beautiful word spilled out of his mouth and into the air. He must have mistaken Leo’s shock for a negative reaction because then he started rambling.

“I-I mean… Look I can’t explain it I just… I r-really like being around you a-and I don’t want it to stop and--”

Leo tilted the flushed Omega’s chin up and caught his lips mid-sentence. Takumi froze as he pulled away.

“I’m sorry, too forward of me?”

“N-No, you’re fine.” He sighed. “I just… I don’t know what I’m going to do about my family. Ryoma thinks I’m ill or something. He made me stay in bed for the last three days! He even posted an armed guard outside of my tent to make sure I didn’t leave! He only stopped when one of the healers checked up on me and scolded him for wasting her time!”

Leo was a little relieved that Takumi hadn’t stopped coming of his own volition, at least. He wrapped him up in his arms and pulled him close once more. The Omega sighed against his chest. Leo wished he could just enjoy the moment, but his brain was already working a mile a minute trying to figure it all out. Trying to figure out how to  _ fix  _ everything for this stubborn Omega that he was hopelessly in love with.

“Don’t worry,  _ my love _ . I’m sure it’ll all work out.”

“I don’t want to talk about it… I don’t mean to dump my problems on you; that’s not what I came here for. Please can we just..?”

Leo picked him up and lay him gently on the ground, on his back. He disposed of their clothing quickly — he was getting accustomed to the complicated Hoshidan garb — all while kissing down the Omega’s neck.

He even removed his own clothes; Something Takumi took notice of immediately.

“I don’t think you’ve ever completely undressed yourself for me.” His tone was light hearted, teasing.

“I’ll make an exception for tonight.”

“Can I..?” He timidly asked, hand hovering over Leo’s bare chest. The Alpha nodded. Takumi wasted no time running his fingers over every inch of the exposed skin, tracing scars with his finger tips. He shivered as his Omega's hands roamed his body appreciatively.

He would never describe what he and Takumi did as “making love”. Fucking? Absolutely. Having sex? Yes. But they didn’t  _ make love _ . That was something for mates, partners, friends. Leo certainly couldn’t call Takumi his  _ partner _ , and even  _ friend  _ might be  stretching the term.

But if he had to pick one word for what they did that night, he supposed making love was the closest thing he could think of. It was far from the rutting, kinky, animalistic sex they’d engaged in on the island and in the majority of their encounters since. It was full of little gasps and moans, kisses and teasing, and whispered words of  _ I love you  _ that Takumi wasn’t capable of understanding _ ,  _ though he’d almost let it slip in their shared tongue.

And when they were done, Takumi didn’t even reach for their clothes. It was still late spring and the night was warm. The dirt wasn’t the most romantic place to snuggle as they waited for his knot, but they made do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Otherwise known as: Leo is an obsessed teenager with a crush, the fan fiction.


	10. Chapter 10

“Takumi! Hold on a minute!” Ryoma ran after him. He shouldered his bow and sighed. He was trying to leave a bit early to meet with Leo this time. He’d been laying low, so they hadn’t met up in almost a week. He should have waited another hour, but by then he would have lost his excuse for heading towards the woods.

“Brother, please… I’d like to get some training done before we lose all of the light.”

The Alpha caught up to him and put a hand on his shoulder. “Are you sure you should be going out? Your heat…”

“My heat is still a while away, and none of your concern!” His could feel his face heating up. He hated it whenever Ryoma brought it up, as if it weren’t humiliating enough on it’s own. “I’m going to be cooped up for a week, I’d like to get as much training in as I can now.”

“... At least take Oboro with you.”

“She’s meeting me there.” The lie stuck in his throat. She still wasn’t speaking to him. As soon as he retired for the night she dropped any pretense and stormed off back to her tent. He was sure it hadn’t escaped his brother’s notice. Ryoma gave him a look, but he didn’t probe. He also didn’t  _ leave, _ something Takumi was desperately wishing he would do.

“... Was there something else you wished to speak with me about?” He could tell by the look in his brother’s eye that there was, but he was hoping against hope that he was wrong.

“Actually there was… I think it’s time you seriously started considering your future.”

Oh gods. Not this again.

“Brother please—“

“Let me finish.” He cut him off before he could protest. “You’re getting older, and we both know that you can’t spend your entire life on the battlefield like this. Why don’t you start the process of looking for a mate?”

It wasn’t that he was necessarily  _ opposed  _ to settling down… But he  _ was _ opposed to some Alpha telling him how he should live his life. He was  _ seventeen _ , he was hardly ‘getting old’ as his brother put it. Ryoma just wanted to use him as a bartering chip for creating some alliance.

The typical Alpha ‘ _ Look at what a fine young prince we have here, he can still bear you  _ many  _ pups!’ _

As if he were some kind of breeding machine. The thought alone made him gag.

“Ryoma I appreciate your sentiment, but I’m not ready to find a mate just yet. Besides, I can be far more useful on the battlefield!”

That wasn’t his only objection, of course. If he were to start looking for a mate he would have to return to the capital… and that would mean saying goodbye to Leo forever. The thought alone opened up a hollow pit in his chest.

“I understand your reluctance, but I’m afraid it’s not up to you. After your next heat I’ll be sending you back to Shirasagi. I’m sorry Takumi, but I don’t think we can afford to wait any longer.”

He was beyond furious. Leave it to Ryoma to do… well… this! He should have known that his brother wasn’t asking, he was  _ telling. _ Ever since he’d presented as an Omega he knew that this would be his fate some day… But he’d always thought he’d get to choose  _ when  _ it happened!

“I… I understand.” He muttered through gritted teeth. “Please, will you let me get back to training, then?”

Ryoma clapped him on the shoulder and headed back to camp. He wanted to scream. He wanted to march back over to his brother’s tent and punch him in the face.

If Ryoma was sending him back to Shirasagi after his next heat, then that meant he didn’t have very long. Two weeks, at most. Three if he included the heat itself. If his brother was serious -- and Ryoma almost always was -- that meant he’d never see Leo again. It was a realization so huge he was almost numb to it, like his brain couldn’t process the concept all at once.

_ He would never see Leo again. _

Takumi took a slight detour toward the archery range just in case Ryoma was keeping an eye on him, but once he was out of sight of his brother’s tent he sprinted toward the woods. It was still pretty early in the day, but now more than ever he couldn’t risk missing the Nohrian prince.

 

* * *

  
When he arrived at the grove Leo was already there. The taller man wrapped his arms around his waist from behind and kissed his ear. “I missed you,  _ αγάπη μου. _ ”

“It’s only been a few days, Leo.”

“A few days is far too many.”

Takumi sighed. He could feel his heart sinking lower and lower with each affectionate gesture, but he didn’t know what else to do. He couldn’t keep seeing Leo, now. What was he going to do, sneak the Alpha into the palace? By this time next year he’d probably have a mate and a pup and another on the way.

“This is the last time, okay?” He was nearly crying as he choked the words out, but he held the tears back.

“Mhm, you’ve said that before, if I recall correctly. Whatever happened to not wanting this to stop?”

The blonde’s lips ghosted along the back of his neck and he shivered. “Things are… Different, okay? There’s a problem.”

Leo let go of his waist, fingers hovering over the fabric of his furs for just a moment. “I thought we were doing this to get away from our problems?”

“I… I can’t explain it, I’m sorry.” He didn’t know how to say it. He didn’t want to leave, but he couldn’t stay.

“... If you think we should stop, then I won’t force you to keep coming.” Leo embraced him once again and kissed up the side of his neck, along his jaw, anywhere he could reach. He got the sense that Leo wasn’t quite taking him seriously. “But you’re already here tonight… Why don’t we make the most of it?”

Takumi chewed his bottom lip anxiously. At this point they were just prolonging it, but...

“I’m serious, this is the  _ last _ time.”

“Of course,  _ αγάπη μου. _ ”

Leo guided him by the hand to the edge of the grove. The Alpha pushed him up against the nearest tree and kissed him gently as he plucked his clothes off one by one. The bark dug into his back, but he didn’t mind. Leo grabbed his thighs and Takumi hooked his ankles around the blonde’s waist.

Leo mumbled a string of words that were -- to Takumi at least -- complete gibberish. And again, he didn’t ask what they meant. He’d decided that he didn’t need to know the meaning, just that the way Leo said them made him feel so  _ warm  _ and  _ safe. _

Takumi pushed open his loose shirt and ran his hands along Leo’s toned chest and shoulders before he wrapped them around his neck for support. He wanted to feel everything, to commit every scar and dimple to memory through his touch. Leo peppered kisses along his jaw and Takumi reached between their bodies to stroke himself.

The bark was cutting into his back with each thrust, and it’d probably take weeks to heal. He’d need to keep his shirt on, lest his brother or any of his suitors see them and ask questions. He shook the thought from his head. He wanted to be _here_ , in the moment. He wanted to feel every thrust and grunt and sigh… He wanted to feel the bark tearing into his back and the sweat rolling down his chest and they way the thick leather of his collar irritated his sweat-soaked skin because whatever made this so wonderful, he didn’t think he’d ever get to feel it again.

Leo buried his nose into his neck. He bared the skin to him, moan caught in his throat as their pace slowed and the Alpha snagged his teeth on the edges of the leather.

“ _ Σ’αγαπώ… _ ” The blonde breathed against his neck as the knot slipped inside.

He shuddered and came on his chest.

Leo pulled him away from the tree and very carefully lowered them to the ground, with the knot still binding their bodies together. Takumi tucked his head under the Alpha’s chin and sighed.

“... So this is really it? You really want to end this?”

“We can’t keep doing this forever, Leo. Ryoma he...” He swallowed the lump in his throat. “... He wants me to find a mate.”

“That’s why you want to end this?”

“That’s why I  _ have  _ to end this.”

“I don’t want to let you go.”

The blonde tightened his arms around him, until he was squeezing him so tight Takumi could barely breathe.

“I don’t want to go… But what are we supposed to do? Sneak around for the rest of our lives?”

“What if I made you my mate?”

“That’s ridiculous… Our countries are at  _ war,  _ Leo.”

Short of completely abandoning his family he’d never be able to openly be with the Nohrian prince. He could do it, if he betrayed everyone and everything he’d ever known… And he couldn’t do that. Leo was asking for more than he was willing to give.

“Countries at war make marriage alliances all the time, it wouldn’t be unusual.”

“No, Ryoma would never allow it. He doesn’t trust Nohr, he’d never risk losing his family if he thought you might go back on your word.”

The knot had gone down by then, and Takumi pulled away and started getting dressed. Leo simply stood up and fixed his shirt and tucked himself back into his pants.

“I… I understand that I can’t make you stay, but…” He grabbed Takumi’s hand just as he finished pulling his shirt back on. “...I want you to come with me, back to Nohr. I love you. I think I’ll always love you.”

He stopped cold. It was the first time Leo had said it in their common tongue, and in an instant he’d made everything between them feel so  _ real _ . So worth hanging on to. He paused for just a moment as his mind swam with possibilities, but in the end he shut them all down. He pulled his hand away reluctantly and sighed.

“Please,” He added desperately. “Think it over.”

“I’m sorry… But I can’t…”

He didn’t spare a second glance at the Alpha’s stunned face. He didn’t think he could bear it. He quickly gathered up his bow and ran before the blonde could see him cry.

* * *

 

When he got back that night he curled up on his cot and tried to keep it together.

_ He loves me. Leo just told me that he  _ loves  _ me. _

The thought had never even crossed his mind. Never in a million years would he have thought that the Nohrian prince would love him, or that he would love him back… But here he was. He didn’t know it, but he’d been wildly, hopelessly, madly in love with Leo for a  _ long  _ time… Exhilarating and terrifying, all at once.

And now? He was mourning the loss of it all. He would never get to love Leo -- truly love him -- because their relationship was in its twilight. In a few weeks time he’d be taking a carriage home to Shirasagi and he’d be popping out pups for some noble he’d barely met and had no interest in.

But there was no time to sulk. Their scouts were reporting that Nohr was gathering their strength for an offensive. They’d be marching on the border any day now, and he had to be ready. Until Ryoma sent him home on the carriage kicking and screaming he would do whatever he could to help.

So, he did what he always did. He buried his emotions, locked them in a neat little box in the back of his mind, and he threw himself into his training.

 

* * *

 

And so that was how he spent his next month. Training until his joints cracked and his arms were so sore he could barely lift them, and spending late nights gathering intelligence and working and re-working plans until he was so exhausted he didn’t have the energy to think -- just sleep.

Hinata had already been sent back to the capital ahead of him, since he wasn’t allowed to be around him this close to his heat. That just left him and Oboro to wait it out, and she still wasn’t speaking to him. So most of those days were spent in silence.

Today was shaping up to be no different. He knocked arrow after arrow in dead silence as Oboro stood off to the side. His muscles were already screaming in protest and his head felt like it was filled with cotton.

_ I can’t be this tired already, I’ve barely started! _

He’d only been at the archery range for half an hour and already his limbs felt like they were being weighed down by lead. His stomach was queasy and his head was killing him. After five arrows landed off the target he threw his training bow to the ground in frustration.

“Done already, milord?” It was the first thing she’d said to him in a week. The slightest bit of concern fell over her face as he leaned heavily against a nearby post. He didn’t really blame her, but now that it was all over with Leo he saw no reason to out himself.

“I’m just… I’m not feeling very well…” He pushed himself upright and started heading back to camp. He made it about three steps before the world started spinning around him, the ground rocked beneath his feet, and he fell to his knees.

“Prince Takumi!” Oboro caught him before he fell face first into the dirt. “I’m taking you to the medical tent.”

“I’m fine, Oboro! I just need to rest.”

She pulled him up and slung his arm over her shoulder. “You’ve been working yourself to death for the past month! We’re getting you checked out by a healer!”

“I didn’t think you cared.”

“You’re still my lord, no matter how stubborn you may be.”

Apparently she was willing to put aside everything that was bothering her about his behavior, because this was much closer to the Oboro he knew. She practically dragged him through camp and dropped him on one of the cots in the medical tent. He heard a few Alphas snicker on the way, but he was so close to passing out he, for once in his life, was able to ignore them.

A healer rushed to his side immediately, tonics, salves, concoctions, bandages, and whatever else she may need in hand. Gods, this was humiliating enough without everyone treating him like he was made of glass.

At least she was an Omega. There were actually a lot of Omegas in camp, though the vast majority of them were healers, and all of them had mates serving in the army. He was one of the few exceptions to that rule. They were usually nice enough, but he didn’t find them good company. They mostly talked about their mates and children: Nothing he could relate to as a seventeen year old prince.

“What’s wrong? Where was he hurt?”

She was half way through pulling his shirt off when Takumi batted her hand away. “Hey, cut it out! I wasn’t  _ injured! _ ”

Oboro stepped outside to give them some privacy. They hadn’t seen combat in awhile so the rest of the tent was blissfully empty. Thank the gods, he wasn’t sure his pride could take another hit.

“Why are you here if you aren’t injured?”

“It’s probably nothing, Oboro just thinks I’ve exhausted myself.”

Though the woman looked far from reassured. She pushed him back down on the cot when he tried to leave and continued her interrogation.

“What kinds of symptoms have you been having? When did they start?”

“Uhm…” He tried to think back. “I guess it started two weeks ago with a headache, and after that I started feeling a little tired and lightheaded, and a little nauseous too sometimes.”

He ticked down the list of symptoms in his head. None of them had been very major. This was the first time he’d almost passed out, and he was still able to do his duties without a problem.

She lowered her voice and leaned in conspiratorially. “And your last heat? When was that?”

He realized, with a sinking feeling, exactly where this conversation was headed.

“You don’t really think I..? No! No, absolutely not!”

“So your heats have been normal?”

“Well no I… I seem to have skipped this one.” He answered sheepishly. It was still possible that it would come, of course, but his heats were almost never more than two weeks off their mark. For the most part they’d been every six months, like clockwork.

She patted him on the shoulder sympathetically. “I know it’s not quite the best time, but this is exciting news! Have you told the father yet?”

He covered his face with his hands. He… He was…

No, he couldn’t be, could he?

“But we didn’t have sex  _ during  _ my heat!” He blurted out desperately.

“If you have sex close enough then you can still get pregnant, sweetie.”

He’d never had anything like this happen before… But then again, normally he cut off seeing his Alphas when his heat was so close. He could only think of one or two instances where he’d had sex within a week of his heat… He must have just gotten lucky, then.

“P-Please don’t tell my brother..!” Gods, he could barely sneeze in camp without Ryoma hearing about it. But if his brother found out that he was  _ pregnant  _ through the grapevine? He’d be dead.

“He’s going to find out eventually, you know. But if you’d like to be the one to tell him, I’ll keep your secret. You should be resting for now, for the sake of the baby. Perhaps you would be more comfortable in your own tent..?”

He didn’t say anything, he just despondently nodded his head and waited for Oboro to come back in and collect him. He was barely holding it together as they slowly trudged back to his tent. The second they were alone and he was sitting securely in his own cot he did something he’d been fighting back for a long time: He cried.

Oboro looked taken aback. He hadn’t broken down like this in front of her in a very,  _ very  _ long time. She hadn’t heard any of his conversation with the healer judging by her shocked look, but he couldn’t bear to keep it to himself any longer.

“... Lord Takumi?” She asked quietly.

He looked up from his hands, shoulders shaking, and he told her everything. Absolutely everything starting from the first time he’d propositioned Leo on the tropical island to just last month when he’d decided to call it off.

“... And now I’m pregnant. With  _ his  _ baby, Oboro! Gods, what am I going to do? I can’t have a Nohrian’s bastard, everyone will  _ know! _ I-I know I’ve been a t-terrible lord and friend, b-but I just couldn’t tell anyone t-that I was seeing  _ him _ a-and…”

He wasn’t expecting much support, given the last few months. But Oboro didn’t even hesitate to walk over to him and pull him into a fierce hug.

“Y-You’re not mad?”

“Oh, I’m  _ furious  _ that you kept this from me. And you were having sex  _ with a Nohrian _ no less!” He could practically hear her demon face coming through in her voice. “But you need me right now, and at least you finally told me the truth.”

It made him feel better, if only marginally.

“Are you going to tell him?”

“Who? Leo?” Nothing made his stomach turn more than confronting the father of his unborn pup  _ about said unborn pup. _ “No. No, that’s… That’s completely out of the question.”

Besides, he had no way of getting into contact with Leo. They hadn’t seen each other in weeks, and it wasn’t as if he could just stroll into Nohr’s main camp and demand an audience. Even a message would probably get read by his brother… And if that happened he didn’t know what he’d do.

Speaking of his brother…

“Are you going to tell Prince Ryoma?”

A child out of wedlock was already going to bring disgrace upon their family… He would never be able to find a good mate with a bastard pup… But a half Nohrian child? He’d be disowned. Forced out of the royal family to fend for himself, and the streets were not kind to Omegas.

“I don’t want him to send me home just yet… As for the father, Ryoma can never know. I’ll just… I’ll just tell him it was some soldier and I can’t remember who.”

After all, being a whore was still better than being a traitor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's been like a month, but I got slammed with a ton of work at the end of the semester. I had a few chapters written ahead, but ultimately I decided that I wasn't happy with them and the re-write had to wait until I had more time. So, sorry about that. Hopefully things can get back on track!
> 
> This was originally all one long chapter with a later chapter, but I thought the pacing would be better if they were split up so hopefully it won't take as long to get the next couple of chapters out.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kind of a shorter chapter, but don't worry the next one is already mostly written so y'all won't have to wait too long.

He hadn’t slept in three days and he could barely focus. His vision swam as he stared at the huge map and the tiny pieces covering the table. They were close -- only days away from their next push, and he’d been agonizing over the best way to move the troops for weeks now. They’d been concealing the bulk of their forces so far, but there was no telling if the Hoshidans would predict their numbers and counter accordingly.

Xander was with him, though Leo was thoroughly lost in his head. He routinely pushed the pieces around and forgot to explain the strategy, and Xander had to interrupt his thoughts more than once to get an explanation.

“Leo?” His brother interrupted for probably the tenth time that evening. “Is everything alright? You seem… Tense, as of late.”

“I’m fine!” He snapped. Why was  _ everyone  _ asking him that? He’d been just fine without Takumi before, he would be fine now.

_ Takumi… _ Just his  _ name  _ sent a twinge through his heart.

“Please… Get some rest tonight, alright?” Xander placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed once. “We need you at your best.”

“This is more important.” He growled, never taking his eyes away from the task in front of him.

“You’re going to work yourself to death if you keep going like this. Go get some sleep.”

“Of course, brother.”

The sun was just barely dipping below the horizon, but he knew better than to question his brother for a second time. He retired to his tent, suppressing his scowl just long enough to get out of Xander’s sight.

He passed several soldiers on the way back, and all of them apparently found his countenance terrifying enough to duck out of his sight immediately. The only people close enough or stupid enough to speak to him were Niles, Xander, and Peri… And truthfully he only entertained her because he was a bit terrified of her himself.

When he got back he sluggishly went through his nighttime routine of carefully setting aside his headband and changing into his sleepwear.

Niles poked his head in when he was half way through combing his hair out.

“Turning in for the night, milord?”

“Yes Niles, thank you.” He responded tersely, yanking the comb through his hair a little more harshly than he’d intended and feeling the consequences.

“Not going to meet your special someone?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” He growled in response.

“So... I take it he broke your heart, then?”

He slammed the comb down.

“For the last time Niles!” He was doing his best to keep his voice low, so any nearby soldiers wouldn’t hear. “ _ There is no man! _ ”

He realized with a pang that he wasn’t lying anymore.

“Please…” His fingers were shaking, and he had to fight hard to keep his voice from trembling as well. “I’m just… Tired. Leave me.”

“... Alright. I’ll be here if you need anything, milord.”

He exited quickly, and Leo fell heavily onto his cot. Niles was definitely owed an apology when morning came, but he wouldn’t worry about that now. Not when his heart was aching so painfully. He’d hoped that by now he would be over it… But it’d been a month and he couldn’t get his beautiful, silver haired Omega out of his mind.

_ No. Not mine. He’s not mine anymore. _

Maybe he was never his at all. Maybe he’d just been lying to himself when he’d hoped they could be more than what they were.

He was an idiot.

It was shaping up to be another long night. His insomnia had flared up again, and every night for the past month he’d been haunted by images of  _ him _ . It was a dangerous rabbit hole, but he couldn’t help trying to cling to the memories. And he certainly had no shortage of those.

There was one memory that sprang to mind. He rolled over onto his back and squeezed his eyes shut and let the scene play out in his mind’s eye.

 

_ He manipulated the vines with one hand. He’d been practicing just for this. _

_ Takumi was naked before him, spread out and on all fours with vines entangling his body, like bows around a particularly enticing present. A thin one was wrapped around his waist, though its purpose was not so innocent. It wrapped around the trembling Omega’s cock and stroking him. _

_ Another much larger vine wrapped around his leg and prodded at his exposed hole, occasionally slipping inside teasingly before retracting. Takumi’s thighs were already soaked, and the soft dirt beneath him was glistening and wet. _

_ The third and final vine wrapped loosely around his neck, though Leo was intermittently forcing it tighter until the Omega couldn’t breathe, then he would relax it. The tip forced its way past Takumi’s red, swollen lips. _

_ “Suck on it.” He commanded. _

_ Takumi complied, vigorously bobbing his head as if he were worshipping a flesh and blood cock. _

_ Leo licked his lips and resisted the urge to touch himself. Instead he instructed the thickest vine to stop teasing and fully impale him. Takumi yelped as the plant suddenly violated him. Leo had even taken care to form a large knot at the base. The Omega’s ass swallowed every inch hungrily and then some. His cock was already dripping, begging for release. _

_ “You like having all of your filthy holes stuffed, don’t you my pet?” _

_ Takumi nodded his head eagerly, mouth still busy with its vine. He retracted that one, and Takumi looked up at him, eyes misty and panting heavily. _

_ “P-Please, sir!” He whined. “Please let me cum!” _

_ “How naughty of you. Just a few vines and you’re already begging.” _

_ He tilted the Omega’s chin up, to look him in the eye. _

_ “How can you expect to cum when you haven’t even pleased your master yet?” _

_ Takumi dropped his head shamefully. “O-Of course, sir.” He then pulled Leo’s cock out of his pants for him. _

 

At this point, Leo slid his hand underneath his waistband and pulled out his own cock. His left arm remained over his eyes while he stroked himself with his right to the memory. How was it that Takumi always managed to be so shameless and so innocent all at once? How was it that he could stare up at him with those big, amber eyes and flushed cheeks while choking on his cock?

 

_ The Omega eagerly opened his mouth and took the entire length down his throat in one swallow, gagging just a little. Leo didn’t force his head down; He simply let Takumi do the work while he commanded the remaining vines to do his bidding. _

_ This, he decided, was his favorite view. _

_ He sent a small pulse of magic through the vines, causing them to swell and contract again, and Takumi’s eyes rolled back in his head. He was close, so close. He sent another pulse and watched his Omega squirm and whimper, and still he didn’t take his focus off of pleasuring his cock. _

_ Leo couldn’t handle it any more. He grabbed Takumi by the bangs and roughly pulled his head off, cumming all over his face in the process. He sent another pulse, as a reward. _

 

His breath caught in his throat at that moment as he came all over his chest. He didn’t immediately reach for a towel though. Instead he kept his left arm over his eyes and let the scene finish. He wanted to remember all of it, especially the end.

 

_ “Cum for me, pet.” He growled, and Takumi complied almost instantly, as if Leo and only Leo could flip a switch in him. His cum spattered on the ground beneath him and he moaned loudly. _

_ “T-Thank you, Alpha!” _

_ He retracted the vines and let them wither and sink into the ground. Takumi’s arms nearly gave out under him. Leo laid back on the ground and beckoned the Omega to his arms. Takumi shakily made his way over and collapsed into his embrace, head craning up to look at him. _

_ “Leo?” _

_ “Yes,  _ αγάπη μου _?” _

_ “... That was amazing.” _

_ When Leo looked down at him, Takumi was grinning up at him from ear to ear. _

_ “What else can you do with those vines?” _

 

That smile is what haunted him that night. Every time he closed his eyes, that was the only thing he saw. Takumi’s grin. It had been so nonchalant, so meaningless at the time... He couldn’t believe the effect it was having on him now.

It felt like the world was laughing at him. To give him something so precious… So worthy of protecting only to rip it away. Every time he rolled over he felt the ghost of the Omega’s arms around his waist and the weight of his head on his chest. He’d spent a lot of long nights, as a chronic insomniac… But these were by far the longest.

It stung all the more when he remembered that Takumi would be mated to another Alpha soon.  _ His  _ Omega. Bearing  _ someone else’s  _ pups and keeping  _ someone else’s  _ house when it should be  _ him _ .  _ His  _ pups.  _ His  _ house.  _ His  _ mate.

And then he remembered that Takumi  _ chose  _ this. He  _ chose  _ to brush Leo aside and pursue this invisible man that he hated so. He  _ chose  _ to reject Leo’s offer of coming back to Nohr and being his mate. As sad as he was, this little tidbit  _ infuriated  _ him.

_ It’s because he doesn’t love me. _

It was the hardest thing for him to face. He’d been avoiding the possibility for months, and he’d been ignoring the truth for now… But it  _ was _ true.

_ Takumi never loved me. _

And, unsurprisingly, that cut deeper than anything else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also known as Chapter 11: Leo is an angsty teen part 2.


	12. Chapter 12

**** He was doing his best to hide it, but people were starting to take notice. The healer had warned him that men had a much harder go of it, and right she was. Takumi was constantly running out of meetings to puke, or waking up with splitting migraines, and once he’d almost fainted in the middle of a strategy meeting.

Even food was becoming disgusting to him. Only a few dishes didn’t make him queasy just by the smell, so he was mostly eating plain rice and miso soup. He was currently pushing the former around his bowl with his chopsticks and scowling at it like it was the source of all of his misery. Frankly, he’d rather just go back to his tent and lie down, but Oboro would nag his ear off about  _ hurting the baby  _ if he didn’t at least  _ try  _ to choke something down.

He’d managed to explain away the most obvious symptoms so far by claiming he had the flu, but even that excuse could only carry him so far. He was going to have to work up the courage to talk to his brother about it eventually, preferably before he started showing.

Speaking of Ryoma... His brother sat down beside him, the fish on his plate nearly making him vomit on the spot.

“Takumi… I’m concerned about you.”

The Nohrians were less than a day’s march away, and there would no doubt be a battle soon. Possibly even today. He insisted, despite Ryoma’s protests, that he would go to the front lines with the rest of the army.

“I’m fine, brother. There’s nothing wrong with me.”

“Are you sure? You still seem very sick. And your heat is soon, is it not?”

“I’ll be fine, I assure you. Besides, Oboro won’t leave my side.” He silently thanked the gods that Ryoma didn’t keep close enough track of his heats to know that this one was well past due.

His brother didn’t look convinced. “I’m sorry, but I cannot allow you to come with us. I won’t risk losing you just because you aren’t fighting at your best.”

“Brother! I told you, I’m fine!”

“No arguing. You will stay in your tent, and Oboro will stay behind to guard you.”

“Fine.” He growled. He pushed his breakfast away from him. What little was left of his appetite was completely gone. He could argue but it would only serve to solidify Ryoma’s resolve about the matter. Instead he stomped back to his tent.

He didn’t really  _ want  _ to be in the claustrophobic canvas prison, but Ryoma had been watching him like a hawk ever since he’d ‘fallen ill’. He really didn’t want to give his brother more reasons to sideline him.

_ Not that it’ll matter in a few months. _

Not being allowed to fight in one measly battle would be the least of his worries as soon as he started showing. Was it even worth it? What good would this baby do him? He or she would bring him nothing but grief.

_ And yet… _

When he thought about it he couldn’t stand the thought of getting rid of it. Every rational part of his brain was screaming at him to just let it go. Ryoma would never have to know of his shamre or the illicit affair with Prince Leo. If he wasn’t already considered a whore and a traitor then he definitely would be once his baby came out with blonde hair or those striking red eyes.

But also… It was  _ Leo’s baby. _ It was the only tangible evidence that their sneaking around and their late night talks and their  _ love  _ had existed. It was stupid and crazy but he couldn’t help himself. It was probably just his stupid hormones making him feel this way...

He so desperately wished he could talk to someone about it; Someone that would help him get his thoughts in order. There were only three other people -- aside from Oboro of course -- that he would consider entrusting this information to, and all of them were out of his reach.

Hinata was back in the capital. He meant well, but Takumi didn’t think he would understand the gravity of the situation. He might even be jealous, since they used to sleep together. Sakura was with Hinoka helping the pegasus knights defend the remainder of the border. He’d even gone so far as to start drafting a letter to her, but he quickly scrapped the idea. Ryoma might get his hands on it, and even if he didn’t Takumi still didn’t want that information floating around where anyone could snatch it. And Mama… Well, Mama was gone.

If he could just talk them then maybe he could get an idea of what to expect from Ryoma. Maybe he could have an ally if things went south. Heck, he even suspected that Hinoka might be more lenient, but there was no way she wouldn’t rat him out to their brother if he told her. And he probably wouldn’t be seeing any of them in person for months, so the point was completely moot.

Why didn’t he just tell Ryoma now? Get it over with, rip the bandaid off? He couldn’t fool him forever, and it would probably be better to tell him before the rumors started. But he also just didn’t want to go home yet. Not when he could still be useful to the army.

 

* * *

 

 

He hated to admit it, but Ryoma may have had a point. He spent the next few hours after breakfast staring at the canvas ceiling of his tent and trying not to puke up what little breakfast he’d eaten. Oboro was standing outside, and they occasionally conversed by yelling through the thin walls.

“Can you believe Ryoma?” He groused even as he grabbed his nearby bucket. “I mean, I’m just as competent as any Alpha!”

“I’m sorry Lord Takumi, but I agree with him with this time. Your  _ flu  _ is still pretty bad.”

They’d been referring to it as such ever since he’d found out, just in case anyone was listening to them. The camp was mostly empty, but that didn’t mean people weren’t listening to them. Many healers stayed behind, and Takumi was well aware of how chatty they could be.

He paused a moment so he could empty the contents of his stomach into the bucket. Gods, he felt disgusting. He was pale and shivering and sweating and his breath reeked of bile and rice. He lay back down and pulled the covers tightly around his shoulders.

“Are you alright, Takumi?”

“I’m fine.”

She stepped inside to take the bucket away so the smell wouldn’t trigger another dry heave.

“I’ll grab you some water, too.”

“Thanks Oboro. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

It wasn’t long until he heard the sounds of battle off in the distance. It was a little troubling, they sounded much closer than he’d predicted but he supposed there was no use worrying over it now. He had the utmost confidence in their troops and Ryoma’s ability as a commander.

 

* * *

 

 

 

He must have dozed off, because when he woke next it was to the sound of many feet shaking the earth.

_ The battle must be over. _

He listened for a moment, but there was nothing too unusual about the sound. Just the clinking of armor and the stomping of feet and hooves…

_ Wait. Hooves? _

Suddenly he was wide awake. Maybe he was mistaken, but the closer he listened the more sure he became: There was definitely the sound of horses. He grabbed Fujin Yumi and ran outside just in time to see a swath of black marring the hillside and rushing toward their encampment.

He froze. How could there be so  _ many  _ of them? By all of their scouts’ accounts the Nohrian army should have been  _ half  _ that size.

Oboro grabbed him by the arm and yanked him away.

“Lord Takumi, we have to  _ go! _ ”

His body was on autopilot as she dragged him along behind her toward the nearby woods.

_ I can’t… I can’t run like a coward! _

Everything around him exploded in one cacophony of screaming and blood. They didn’t manage to get far before the Nohrian calvary was upon the camp. The few soldiers left behind were quickly slaughtered, but unlike him Oboro didn’t look back at the carnage.

The forest would by no means be safe, but they would be able to move much faster than the calvary in the dense undergrowth. It wasn’t a sureshot by any means, but it was the best plan they could have come up with.

They were nearly to the treeline when fire spell landed between them and safety. The flames caught on the dry grass and within moments all of the surrounding foliage was ablaze. He whipped around, only to be met with the cruel crimson eyes of the second prince of Nohr. He was several yards behind them still, but with their exit effectively cut off that was a relatively miniscule span of distance.

“I see we meet again, Prince Takumi.” Leo sneered down at him from his steed. He snapped the red fire tome shut and swapped it out for the usual purple and black of Brynhildr.

“L-Leo..?” He stuttered out. He could barely breathe for the smoke clogging the air.

“We’re a long way from the beach, huh?”

Oboro shoved him behind her, naginata at the ready and the usual demonic expression she wore when encountering Nohrians securely in place.

“Run!” She shouted over the din.

“Are you crazy? I can’t leave you!” Leo was not only extremely powerful, but he had the advantage of range. If he left then she wouldn’t have anyone to cover her.

“I’m not debating this, Lord Takumi!” She shouted over her shoulder as Leo’s hand glowed with that familiar purple energy.  _ “Run!” _

It had been a long time since anyone tried their Alpha voice on him. As a prince no one dared to command him, and if they did they were liable to have their heads removed from their bodies by Ryoma. He desperately tried to resist, but his limbs moved without his permission. By now even the trees were catching and the fire was cutting through to the heart of the forest. He was running along the treeline desperately looking for an opening to escape the Nohrian cavalry; He was slowing down as the smoke thickened in the air, and he could barely see three feet in front of him let alone  _ breathe. _

He didn’t pick out the distinct sound of footsteps quickly making their way toward him until it was too late. Something slammed into him from behind and he fell face first in the dirt. He let out a strangled, surprised cry as he went down.

“My, what have we here? A lost little Hoshidan lamb?”

The first thing he noticed was that this man was an Alpha. He was on the ground, flat on his stomach, but his potent scent was wafting down to him in spite of the black haze. There was no way he’d be able to take him in a fair one-on-one fight, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to try. By some miracle Fujin Yumi hadn’t fallen too far, and he picked it up and twisted his body around to face the man. He smacked him hard on the side of the head and the Alpha crumpled to the ground beside him.

He hated using his precious bow as a blunt instrument, but desperate times called for desperate measures. He picked himself up off the ground and started running, but he didn’t make it very far before the man grabbed him again and twisted his arm behind his back.

“I see we have a feisty one~ Too bad we don’t have much time left before this entire forest burns to the ground. I do so love playing with my food.”

“Scum! I’ll-- Ah!” He cried out as the man twisted his arm until he dropped his bow. Then his wrists were bound behind his back, and whoever this was threw him over his shoulder like a sack of flour.

He squirmed, kicked, fought as best he could. He even managed to get the man to drop him, but all he earned for his efforts was a slap across the face. Even sicker, the man seemed to enjoy watching him struggle. He laughed at his futile efforts as he carried him back into Nohrian territory.

 

* * *

 

Being marched into the Nohrian camp was a different kind of fear. It wasn’t the quick, exhilaration of battle, or the adrenaline pumping through his veins brought on by a near death experience… No, it was more akin to his childhood fear of the dark. It crept into him slowly, and there was the constant feeling that  _ something  _ was lurking in the shadows waiting to pounce.

The man dropped him near a tent -- judging by the size of it, it probably belonged to a higher official of the army. Possibly even one of the princes themselves. As they approached his suspicions were confirmed; Leo’s scent was thoroughly entrenched in the fabric walls. But his former lover’s familiar scent did little to calm his nerves, especially after the man spoke again.

“I’m afraid you’ll have to wait for Prince Leo to return from the battle. Try not to get into too much trouble while you wait.” He ended the statement with what Takumi could only guess was a wink. The eye patch made it hard to discern.

His skin prickled as he felt all eyes turn to him. In all of his years living as an Omega, he’d never felt more tiny, more vulnerable. His wrists were tied behind his back and his ankles were tied together. He never considered himself to be a weak person, but he shifted uncomfortably at the knowledge that -- if so desired -- these men could do whatever they wanted with him, and he would be completely powerless to stop it.

The albino man shouted something over his shoulder, directed at the other soldiers within the vicinity. He didn’t know what he’d said because it had been in the Nohrian tongue, but whatever it was seemed to be keeping the other Alphas back for the moment.

Takumi took a quick survey of his surroundings, and immediately he noticed one thing: There were no Omegas within the camp that he could tell. In the Hoshidan camp they weren’t typically allowed to fight, but there were still plenty of Omegas around. It made him feel safe, secure. Like he belonged. There was no illusion of that here.

This wasn’t even the full army, either. Most of them were still ravaging the countryside.

He probably spent hours kneeling there. It was well into the night before the soldiers started filtering back into the camp, and Leo didn’t ride in until near the end. His blonde hair was singed and he was covered head to toe in ash and blood. Part of him wanted to be relieved that Leo was safe and alive, but how could he? The man he thought he loved had just slaughtered scores of innocent people. Possibly even his brother and Oboro. He’d been trying to push the thought aside, but seeing him absolutely doused in blood terrified Takumi.  _ This  _ was what he was capable of.  _ This  _ was the man he’d fallen in love with.

He was made to wait even longer with these horrifying thoughts because the first thing the Alpha did was head to the medical tent. He came out about an hour later, most of his armor gone and a few bandages here and there, but still mostly unscathed.

Leo grabbed him by the collar, sharp tips of his gauntlets digging into the back of his neck.

“This one is off limits, understood?” He said it in the common tongue and, presumably, he repeated the same thing in the Nohrian tongue. Maybe not all Nohrians spoke it, or they’d allied with another country? “No one is to disturb us.”

Leo held him up by the back of his shirt for a moment like some kind of sick trophy, then dragged him into his tent. It was large but sparsely decorated. There was a table in the center with several maps strewn about its surface and a cot pushed into the corner that looked barely slept in. Or maybe Leo was just very meticulous about putting it back together.

Takumi knew he shouldn’t have expected any kindness, but he certainly wasn’t expecting the degree of contempt his former lover regarded him with. Leo practically dropped him on the ground and crossed his arms, glaring down his nose like nothing had ever happened between them.

“Leo please-”

“Don’t.” The Alpha cut him off harshly. “You don’t get to take that familiar tone with me. Not anymore.”

He was on the brink of tears, panic rising in his throat. If they’d made it to the main camp, then that meant their defensive forces had been completely  _ decimated _ . And if Leo was willing to do that, then there was no telling what he would do to him now. He didn’t know this man, not anymore.

“What have you  _ done!? _ Where’s Ryoma? And Oboro?”

“I would be more concerned with your own situation if I were you.”

“What? You have me. Are you going to kill me?”

“Don’t be stupid, Prince Takumi. You’re of far more use to me alive.”

“What? So you can force my brother to give you what you want? Or maybe you intend to keep me around as your plaything?” He spat, disgusted. “You  _ love  _ me so now you think you  _ own  _ me? Is that why you kidnapped me?”

He slammed his hand down on the table angrily. Takumi jumped a little, but he held his glare.

“This has  _ nothing  _ to do with that.” He growled lowly. “You mean  _ nothing  _ to me anymore. Rest assured that when we get what we want from your brother -- and he  _ is  _ alive, for your information -- then you can go back to your  _ precious  _ family.”

A hole opened up in the pit of his stomach. The news of Ryoma brought him some small relief, but otherwise he was shocked completely speechless. Just like that, everything they had been… Everything they had built was gone. Those long nights talking and all those moments they’d shared… Every memory he’d been clinging to… Gone. Not just gone, but thrown on the ground and stomped on, right in front of his face.

“I can’t believe I ever loved you.” He muttered under his breath, though he suspected Leo still heard him.

He felt like an idiot. Of course he couldn’t expect Leo to care for him after he’d broken his heart but… Well he had a duty to his family. It hadn’t been personal at all, but Leo didn’t seem to understand that. Yes he could have chosen to run away with him, but that was easy for the Alpha when he didn’t have to give up  _ anything _ . He had everything to gain, and Takumi had everything to lose. He’d hoped that Leo had at least understood that when he left.

He hadn’t been planning on telling him about the baby, but he definitely couldn’t now. Leo  _ despised  _ him, and he didn’t know what the Alpha would do if he found out that he was carrying their pup. As afraid as he was of Ryoma’s reaction, he was  _ terrified  _ of Leo’s.

The Alpha didn’t break his glare, but he did growl deep in his throat. Takumi was half expecting to be hit, but Leo just bent down and cut the ropes binding his limbs.

“I will not be accused of mistreating an Omega.” He finally said, as if he’d read his mind. He nodded toward the cot in the corner. “Sleep. I’ll bring a healer by to look at you in the morning.”

“No!” He blurted out suddenly. Leo seemed taken aback by his outburst. “I mean, I’m fine. I don’t need a healer.”

“You’ve been breathing in smoke, and as I recall you put up quite a fight against my retainer. I won’t have you dying on my watch; You need to be looked at.”

Takumi briefly wondered how Leo knew about the fight, but the one-eyed Alpha must have told him about it when they were being treated.

“I don’t need any help, thanks.” He spat.

He knew that the second a healer saw him, they would know. Assuming getting tossed around like a rag doll hadn’t already hurt the baby, they would know immediately that he was pregnant. And Leo would know that it was  _ his  _ child.

“I’m not giving you a choice, Prince Takumi.” He pointed to the cot once again. “Now  _ sleep. _ ”

He begrudgingly trudged over to the cot and laid down. He was a little worried about what came next, but Leo simply stormed out and left him all alone with his thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas y'all.


	13. Chapter 13

**** When he returned to his tent several hours later Takumi was curled up in his cot and already fast asleep. He envied the Omega’s ability to do that, though maybe it was just due to the stress of the day.

He tried focusing on his maps, but his eyes were drawn to the silver-haired prince. He looked so calm, so peaceful in his sleep. Who did he think he was kidding? He was still hopelessly in love with this man. He still loved Takumi, despite everything. That’s why he’d stopped them at the treeline when they’d stormed the camp. That’s why he’d ordered Niles to take him alive, no matter what.

Leo wanted nothing more than to hold him. To have  _ his  _ Omega back safely in his arms, and assure him that everything would be just fine.

But Takumi had made his feelings very clear. More than once. He couldn’t do it anymore. He’d opened himself up, made himself vulnerable, and allowed this Omega to stomp all over his heart. To make him feel empty and broken and  _ weak _ in a way he hadn’t felt since he was a child.

He asked Niles to bring him a bedroll, and he spent another restless night on the floor. Takumi didn’t stir until it was nearly dawn. Leo was pulled out of his fitful sleep by the sound of someone retching.

Takumi was sitting up on the cot, head between his legs and groaning as he dry heaved.

“Prince Takumi?”

The Omega didn’t respond, he simply grunted. Gods, was he ill? Was this because of the battle? Leo quickly got out of bed and headed for the entrance to his tent.

“Don’t move, I’m bringing a healer.”

He had no idea why Takumi was so adverse to the idea: Clearly he was very sick and he  _ needed  _ one. It was still quite early so he was forced to drag one out of bed and back to his tent. The woman looked miffed to be woken up at such an ungodly hour and dragged across camp in her sleep clothes, but Leo didn’t have time to care. Takumi could be  _ dying _ as they spoke. Who knew what all of that smoke inhalation had done to his body? He was kicking himself for not insisting on getting him a healer as soon as possible.

There were a few tense minutes as she looked him over. The Omega was less than compliant, and he refused to answer any sort of questions. She finally let out an exasperated sigh and turned to Leo.

“You kidnapped a  _ pregnant  _ Omega?”

The world stopped spinning around him. He couldn’t even comprehend that one little word.  _ Pregnant _ . It rattled around in his blank mind. He glanced between the healer and Takumi, but the Hoshidan prince was very pointedly staring at the ground.

“P-Pregnant?”

“Yes! Pregnant!” She spat. “You’re lucky he hasn’t lost it with all of the manhandling your troops were doing!”

“Would you leave us for a moment.” It wasn’t a question. The healer collected up her things and shuffled out, grumbling about how she would be back later to finish treating him.

Once he was reasonably sure she was out of earshot he turned on Takumi.

“How far along are you?” For all he knew in the two months they’d been apart Takumi had found himself a mate. But he didn’t think it likely. He was still wearing his collar, something he would have no need for if he’d acquired a bond scar.

“None of your business!”

“That might be  _ my  _ pup! It  _ is  _ my business.” His voice lowered to a whisper, but he was still growling.

“Yes okay! It’s your pup!” He said it matter of factly, but Leo could see him shaking. Was… Was he  _ afraid? _ Or was he just that angry?

“Why didn’t you tell me? Were you just that desperate to keep him from me?”

“How the hell was I supposed to tell you? I didn’t find out until a month ago!”

“You could have sent a letter. I have the right to know about my child.” He was, frankly, hurt that Takumi would keep it from him.

“And risk my brother finding out about you? I haven’t even told him I’m  _ pregnant _ , Leo!”

“That’s  _ Prince _ \--”

“Oh shut up! You put a  _ baby  _ in me, and then you  _ kidnapped _ me!” He snapped angrily. “I think if  _ anyone  _ gets to complain about disrespect it’s  _ me. _ ”

He started pacing the room, internal debate running through his head.

_ I can’t ransom him back now, he’s carrying my  _ child.

_ But if I don’t then it’ll just prolong the war. _

_ Screw the war, that’s my pup. _

_ He already hates you, you think kidnapping him will change his mind? _

“ _ Damn it, Takumi _ .” He muttered under his breath. Finally he stopped and whipped around. “This changes nothing.”

Takumi cocked his head to the side, confused.

“We’ll return you to your family after we get what we want.”

Takumi snorted. “I thought you would at least care about your pup. Guess I was wrong about that, too.”

Gods, was he doing this  _ intentionally? _ Was Takumi just needling at him to get a reaction? He’d be inclined to think so if he wasn’t already aware of how antagonistic the Omega could be, even without realizing it.

“Don’t misinterpret this. I want my pup.” Suddenly he had a thousand new scenarios to run through. How was he going to collect a ransom  _ and  _ keep his pup?

Takumi shut down completely after that. He simply crossed his arms and sat on his cot until Leo left him alone.

 

* * *

He spent the next several hours drafting a letter. It had been a hard enough task before, but suddenly having this information dumped on him was distracting to say the least. Every few minutes his mind wandered back to it.

_ I’m going to be a father. _

If he was being completely honest, the thought terrified him just a bit. He was barely on the other side of eighteen years old, and Takumi was even younger. And it wasn’t as if he had any great role models to follow. His father had been slowly descending into madness since he was eight, and his mother held the title by virtue of their biology only.

The Omega was still in the tent with him, sulking on his cot. Leo was reluctant to move him given the soldier’s general rowdiness around Omegas. He’d grabbed a few books for him to read, but his small personal collection didn’t include that many books written in the common tongue. Maybe he would ask Niles to head into the nearest town and pick up a few the Hoshidan could read.

He chanced a glance over at his captive. The silver haired prince had one hand over his stomach, and he was muttering something that Leo couldn’t understand. Either because it was too quiet, or Takumi was speaking in his own native language.

Seeing how tender he was, Leo had no doubt that Takumi would be a good mother. If the rumors were true then Queen Mikoto has been an exceptionally caring and loving woman, and he had no doubt that had extended that to her children. He didn’t know much about the late Hoshidan King, as he’d been long dead by the time Leo was old enough to concern himself with such matters, but he guessed that he’d been an excellent father as well.

And yet… There was no way they would condone a Nohrian bastard, right?

Perhaps he was too cynical. Maybe Takumi’s family _ would  _ accept him, Nohrian bastard and all. And maybe they should. Maybe they would be better off without him.

And yet, he couldn’t stand the thought. No matter what the circumstance it was still  _ his _ child.

By the time he finished and had the letter sent out it was well into midday. Takumi was still glaring at him warily from the corner of the room. He still hadn’t touched the books Leo had found for him, and the Alpha suddenly realized that he hadn’t eaten anything at all since he’d been captured.

Now that he thought about it, he hadn’t either. He spent a few minutes debating how best to broach the subject, but in the end he figured he would just have to be direct.

“... Would you like something to eat?”

He shook his head. “Not hungry.”

“You haven’t eaten in two days.”

Now that he looked closer he could see that Takumi still looked a little pale.

“Are you still sick?”

“I’m  _ always  _ sick. It’s called morning  _ sickness _ , asshole.”

He could think of several snide remarks, but he bit his tongue. He wasn’t exactly doing himself any favors by pissing off the mother of his child, no matter how upset Takumi made him.

Besides, all things considered, it was hard to suppress his protective instincts. Sure he could order Takumi to eat, and as an Omega he would have no choice but to comply. But throwing his Alpha voice around to get what he wanted wasn’t exactly going to win him back into Takumi’s good graces any time soon.

So instead he swallowed his pride for the Omega once again. “I’ll get something from the mess hall. You can eat it or not, but I really think you should try for the baby.”

He grabbed the plainest foods possible from the mess, just a hunk of cheese, some bread, and berries. The Hoshidan eyed it suspiciously, but as soon as Leo started eating he followed suit. Takumi ravenously devoured everything in front of him, and Leo had to work hard to keep the smile off of his face.

Takumi swallowed a mouthful. “S-Stop staring at me.” He had the slightest blush tinting his cheeks. Gods he was so  _ bashful _ .

“Sorry.”

He had to stop thinking like that. This man had already broken his heart once, and there was no guarantee he wasn’t going to do it again. He couldn’t focus on how cute he looked when he ate or how sweet he looked when he was sleeping or how he used to be able to make him blush a thousand shades redder.

He turned his attention back on his food, and they finished their lunch in silence.

 

* * *

 

Leo spent most of the remainder of the day with Xander, though it was in less than a formal capacity. He stepped into his brother’s tent with absolutely no expectation of him being there, but he was. He hated to admit that he needed help but… Well, he needed advice. He was in over his head.

“Ah, Leo. Just who I was hoping to see. How is Prince Takumi settling in?”

“He’s doing fine, brother. Actually, that’s what I wanted to speak to you about.”

Nothing was forcing him to come clean. In a week or two they would ransom Takumi back off to the Hoshidans, and he would probably live a perfectly happy life without him. But it would eat him up inside. It had already been eating him up inside, and it wasn’t as if Xander hadn’t noticed. His brother was just patient enough not to ask.

So he sat down, and he told his brother everything. He tried to remain as clinical as he could throughout, and he avoided making mention of his particular feelings during certain events. He was almost to the end -- and the real point of spilling his guts -- when Xander finally interrupted him.

“So… You’re telling me you have a history with Prince Takumi?”

For his part, Xander had remained stoic throughout his explanation. Though his tone was slightly disappointed, he maintained that neutral expression.

“I have… A bit  _ more  _ than just history with him.”

“Explain.”

“As I was saying… Prince Takumi no longer wished to see me, and we broke off our arrangement about two months ago.”

“But?”

“But…” He braced himself. “... But he’s pregnant.”

The mask fell. Xander pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers.

“I see. Is that why you had him taken hostage?”

“Of course not! I only just found out about it this morning!”

Xander paused for a moment.

“We have to cut him loose.”

“I’ve already sent a letter to Prince Ryoma requesting an audience.”

“You want to negotiate? Using a  _ pregnant  _ Omega as leverage? Are you  _ mad _ ? Taking him in the first place is already considered a  _ war crime! _ ”

“Not if he’s carrying  _ my  _ child!”

“How do you know it’s your child? For all we know Prince Takumi could be a whore! He could be manipulating you!”

“ _ Don’t. _ ” He growled. Takumi wouldn’t do that to him.

“Okay. Let’s assume that this  _ is  _ your child. What do you expect to happen? Are you going to throw him over the back of your horse and drag him back to Windmire with you? Are you really that bent on destroying whatever is left of Nohr and Hoshido’s relationship?

“Of course not!” He sighed, exasperated. “You think too lowly of me if you assume I haven’t thought this through.”

“I don’t think you _have_ thought this through completely! What will father say when you return from war with a half Hoshidan pup? How do you think the royal court will respond to a half-breed prince or princess? They’ll drag your name through the mud! You’ll be lucky if father _just_ disowns you!”

“I know how it looks but--”

“And what about Prince Takumi? Do you think he’ll be happy in Nohr? He’ll be a pariah. Are you going to take him as your mate? There’ll be a mutiny among the nobility. If something should happen to me in this war, and if something should -- gods forbid -- happen to Siegbert then your child will become king or queen after you. Do you think the people would accept a half Hoshidan ruler?”

“I-”

“Not to mention-”

“Alright!” He finally interrupted. “You’re right, okay! I haven’t thought this through as thoroughly as I thought.”

Xander sighed and placed a hand on his shoulder. “You’re intelligent, Leo, but you’re too young. You’re too focused on what  _ you  _ want. You need to think about what’s best for your country, and your child, first. Let Prince Takumi go. Let him raise your pup in Hoshido.”

“But what if things are just as bad for him there? What if this isn’t what’s best for him?”

“Would you rather he be raised somewhere you  _ know  _ he won’t be accepted, or somewhere he  _ might  _ be accepted?”

“I…”

His brother squeezed his shoulder affectionately. “Think about it. I know you’ll do what you think is best. And know that I’ll support you, whatever the outcome.”

 

* * *

 

Damn Xander for being so honorable. After their little exchange he headed for the woods, just to think without the bustle of the camp or the smell of Takumi clouding his mind. He hadn’t really been intending to end up in their old stomping ground, but before long he found himself in that same clearing. He hadn’t been here since the night Takumi had broken his heart. It was completely unchanged, though the leaves were just beginning to change colors. It also wasn’t nearly as close to the Hoshidan side of the border now. After they’d overcome the Hoshidan forces they’d managed to push the lines back quite a ways.

He sat down in the grass and flipped open Brynhildr and concentrated. He’d been trying to learn how to conjure Hoshidan flowers, but it was much more difficult when he was only going off of a few pictures and botany books. Not to mention that he hadn’t practiced in months.

At the end of the day his brother was right. There was no good that would come of him keeping Takumi hostage. Even if it was his child, even if he  _ did  _ still love him…

His concentration snapped, and the greenery emerging from his hand blackened and withered. He cursed under his breath. Why did he have to be so goddamn  _ selfish?  _ Xander would have done the right thing and not even thought twice about it!

But Xander also didn’t love Takumi. He didn’t know how much it hurt to watch him walk away.

Of course his  _ perfect  _ brother would never understand. Xander had never disobeyed father in his life. He never loved anyone he wasn’t supposed to or did anything wrong… Because that’s not what royalty  _ did.  _ Gods, why was he so  _ fucked?  _ Why couldn’t he just be happy going home to Windmire at the end of this war and marrying whatever unremarkable noble his father picked out for him?

That was the thing about Takumi: He’d changed the rules. Not even just the rules, he’d changed the whole damn  _ game. _ Leo hadn’t really thought about what he craved in a partner before he met Takumi. Chances were good that if they hadn’t met then he would have been okay living with his father’s choice. But Takumi was attractive, intelligent, stubborn, headstrong, obnoxious, infuriating, and  _ perfect _ . How could anyone else compete with that?

All of this pondering was getting him nowhere. He supposed it came down to one question in the end: was his ego worth making Takumi hate him?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: The sentence "I haven’t thought this through as thoroughly as I thought." is both obnoxiously alliterative and the perfect description of everything I've ever done in my life!


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone I'm sorry this is like three days late but I had to spend Friday driving back to school and I spent most of last week working on my High School AU so this wasn't pre-written beforehand.
> 
> Anyways, potential trigger warning(s). See the end of chapter notes for specifics.

He might have been resentful of the guard keeping him in the tent if he thought he could actually  _ go  _ anywhere. Gods, this baby was going to be the death of him. Mama went through this torture  _ four times?  _

Though, he was doing better now than he had in a long time. If he kept on his side and buried his face in his -- or should he say Leo’s -- pillow then he  _ almost  _ didn’t feel nauseous. He’d even managed to read a little bit of the Nohrian horticulture book Leo had brought him, though he had to admit that the subject bored him to tears. He tried poking around the tent a little for something else, but the rest of the Alpha’s books were impossible for him to read. The Nohrian language had such a strange alphabet, he wouldn’t even know where to begin sounding out the words.

Leo didn’t return until late in the evening. He stopped at the entrance and Takumi could feel his eyes on his back. Maybe Leo thought he was asleep? He wasn’t really in the mood to talk, so that assumption suited him just fine.

“Prince Takumi?”

Damn it. He grunted to signal that he was awake.

“Has anyone brought you dinner?”

“Yes.” He pointed over his shoulder at the table where two bowls of stew were sitting. His was only half eaten; The beef made him queasy. Both bowls were long cold by now, but the Alpha picked his up and began eating anyways.

“Would you like me to get you something else?”

“I’m fine.”

“Are you sure? You’re eating for two now, it’s not good for the baby if you don’t eat enough.”

“Yeah, well. Getting kidnapped isn’t exactly good for the baby either.”

He half expected the Alpha to go off on him again, but Leo just sighed. He’d never thought he’d use the word  _ defeated  _ to describe the second prince of Nohr, but that was exactly the word that came to mind. Leo was sitting at the table with head in his hands, bowl of stew lying half-forgotten off to the side.

This was the man that he, not three days ago, had witnessed raze an entire camp. He’d always carried himself with an arrogance. With his chin up and his head held high. It was a far cry from the slumped over man before him, with his pale face and dull eyes.

He’d hated him. He’d loved him. He’d even been afraid of him. But he’d never felt  _ sorry  _ for him before. Not even after he’d broken his heart, but it was hard to feel anything else for someone that looked so  _ vulnerable. _

Is that how Leo had looked after he left? Had he cut such a pathetic figure in front of his men? No, probably not he decided. He was a prince, and princes didn’t appear weak. In front of anyone. It was a lesson he was all too familiar with.

He wasn’t sure if he should say anything. He’d taken too long to respond, and Leo didn’t even move for a long while. Finally, the Alpha pounded his fist on the table and stood up.

“Get some rest. I’m taking you to the border in the morning.”

Now that caught his attention. He actually sat up despite his stomach’s protests.

“What?”

“I can’t in good conscience hold a pregnant Omega as a prisoner of war. Even if he is carrying my pup.”

It struck him as very odd. As the father of their child, Leo had every right to keep him. Strictly speaking, Takumi was as good as his property in the eyes of the law. There wasn’t a soul alive that would contest that, not even his own brother if he knew.

“What, you’ve managed to push up your negotiations with my brother?”

He asked it scornfully. Surely there had to be a catch? They weren’t just going to let him go, were they? Not when they knew they could get something out of it. And Leo had told him that he wanted their pup, why would he just let him go without a fight?

But Leo just shook his head.

“I… I can’t use my own child as a bargaining chip.”

“So you do have some honor after all.”

“Like I said,” The Alpha seemed to just barely be containing a growl. “Get some sleep. It’s a long trip to the border.”

Then Leo sat down on his bedroll, effectively ending the conversation.

He was relieved to be going home, assuming Leo kept his word. Anything to get out of this stuffy tent and this awful camp that was filled to the brim with nothing but Alphas. And as soon as he was back he would be able to assess the damage to their forces. More importantly, he would be able to see if Oboro made it out okay. Leo had been painfully silent on both of these topics since he’d been captured, though at least he knew Ryoma was alive. No doubt Saizo and Kagero had dragged him off the battlefield once it became apparent that it was a lost cause.

Though, going home meant facing his brother too. He could already tell that he’d been putting on some weight despite his dietary habits, and it probably wouldn’t be long before he started showing. He’d had a lot of time to think about it the past few days, and he’d finally decided. As soon as he got back he was just going to tell Ryoma and face the music. Whatever his brother did… However he reacted... It couldn’t be worse than getting  _ kidnapped _ , right?

He rolled over as well and tried to get some sleep.

* * *

 

True to his word, the next morning Leo woke him up bright and early. It didn’t take long to get everything prepared for the trip, since he didn’t exactly  _ have  _ anything with him. The only possession to his name was Fujin Yumi, and obviously they weren’t going to let him have  _ that  _ back as long as he was within firing range of their prince.

Leo saddled up his horse, doing each buckle very deliberately and patting it’s neck when he was done. He wondered how this would work, was he supposed to walk alongside Leo’s horse? If so, why bring the horse at all?

It took an agonizingly long amount of time, and when Leo finished he turned to him.

“Alright, get on.”

“What?”

“Come on, we don’t have all day. I told you that it’s a long way to the border, and I’m not letting you walk with your...  _ condition. _ ”

“What do you mean my  _ condition?  _ I’m still perfectly capable of walking, thanks!”

In reality, he didn’t think he’d make it very far. He didn’t realize vertigo could be a side effect, but he was definitely experiencing it right now. That, and he hadn’t gotten much sleep. When that happened he tended to feel faint after too much activity. The real reason he didn’t want to get on, stupid as it may be, was simply that he’d never ridden a horse before. Pegasi, sure. But horses were strictly Nohrian, and a lot more ornery. He’d never even  _ seen  _ one before the war, unless it was pulling a merchant’s cart.

“Really? You’re going to be stubborn about this?”

“I-I’ll be fine.”

The Alpha rolled his eyes, and before Takumi could protest the blonde had grabbed him around the waist and lifted him onto the horse. How the hell were Alphas so damn  _ strong? _

He clung desperately to the saddle, and he was already shaking. He didn’t want to look weak in front of Leo, but one look at him and he knew that the Alpha understood. Leo mounted the horse behind him and took the reigns.

“I hate doing this to her but…” He urged the horse to start moving toward their destination. “Clearly you’re going to get yourself killed if I don’t.”

“Hey! Where exactly did you expect me to get riding training from in Hoshido?” He spit defensively. He was gripping the saddle so hard his knuckles were white, and his legs were squeezing as tightly as they could so he wouldn’t slip off.

“Relax. I’m not going to let you fall off.” Leo’s arms were around him to provide a small barrier from falling, but that didn’t exactly do a lot to comfort him. He wished he had something more solid to hang on to, especially once they started picking up speed.

It didn’t take long for them to pass by the burnt out husk of the old Hoshidan camp. There were no bodies -- the Nohrians must have at least allowed them to collect their dead -- but there was blood absolutely everywhere. It stained the ripped canvas tents, the dirt, the grass… Katana and broadswords alike were scattered about. On the far end the forest fire had done it’s damage, and now there was a large swath of incinerated trees marring the hillside. He couldn’t stand to look at it, so he spent that portion of the ride with his eyes fixed firmly on the black horse’s mane and Leo’s sharp metal gauntlets.

Originally neither of their camps were very far from the border. On horseback it wouldn’t have taken long at all, but they’d been riding for almost an hour and Leo showed no signs of slowing down. He knew that the Nohrians had pushed into their territory, but by this much? It was incredibly unnerving. The mountainous region created a natural choke-point that, at least thus far, had led to a stalemate. But if the Nohrians went much further then they’d get beyond the mountains. Past that it was all hills and fields, and Hoshido’s small deployment of troops would need to increase if they wanted to defend all of it. It would be full on war, not just small border skirmishes.

Eventually they arrived at the forward camp. Most of the Nohrian army’s resources had been diverted here by now. It was about the same size as the camp he’d been held in, but with twice as many soldiers. It was nestled at the mouth of a narrow mountain pass, and he strongly suspected that the Hoshidans had set up on the other end. It was one of the only ways through the mountains, and unless the Nohrians decided to climb them they would have to fight their way through.

He and Leo galloped through the camp without stopping. They made it a few hundred feet into the pass before Leo finally stopped. The Alpha dismounted first, and when his feet were firmly on on the ground he grabbed Takumi by the waist and gently helped him down too.

His legs were killing him, but he got the message. From here he would have to go alone. There was just a few hundred feet separating him from freedom, and he was eager to be on his way. But Leo grabbed him by the wrist before he could get far.

“What?” He snapped. Did Leo change his mind or something?

The Alpha was chewing anxiously on his bottom lip. It was something Takumi had never seen him do before, and it was enough to set him on edge. If  _ Leo  _ was this nervous about something… Well, then it was probably something to be worried about, right? But he was more irritated than anxious.

“Look I… I don’t know how to say this…”

He waited patient, a little too patiently if you asked him. This man had  _ kidnapped  _ him, why the hell was he giving him the time of day when he was so close to freedom?

“Come on then, spit it out!”

“Alright! I just want you to know… If your brother doesn’t accept this baby... I want you to know that you have a place in Nohr.”

He eyed the Alpha suspiciously, but there was nothing but sincerity in his eyes.

“Why would I want to come back to Nohr? Why would I want to raise our pup around someone that despises me?”

“Because I want to make sure our pup is properly cared for, regardless of my feelings for you. If your brother disowns you then you’ll end up sleeping in a gutter. I want better for our child, and I  _ know _ that you do too.”

He… He had no words. He just stood there, mouth gaping as Leo continued.

“If it comes to it, just cross the border. I’ll order the guards not to kill you on sight.”

He backed away quickly. No, it wouldn’t happen. It  _ couldn’t  _ happen, Ryoma wouldn’t disown him…

“I’m sorry Leo, but I don’t think it’ll come to that.”

Did he regret that his child would never know their father? Of course he did. But some fathers, he supposed, might not be worth knowing. Sure, Leo was the man that had held him tight when he had nightmares on the beach, talked with him about philosophy, and he’d even taken care of him for the last few days… But he was also the man that torched an entire forest just to keep him from running.

Did it hurt to see the pained expression on the blonde’s face as he ran away? Yes, more than he wanted to admit. But he had to do what was best for his child, and he didn’t think that Leo was it.

It didn’t take him long to get to the Hoshidan camp. As he approached he slowed to a walk and held his hands up high so the archers on lookout wouldn’t shoot him on sight. One of them even took aim, but he quickly dropped his bow.

“ _ Holy shit! It’s Prince Takumi!” _

His yell echoed through the pass, and before he even reached the edge of the camp his brother was already making his way toward him. When they met Ryoma grabbed him and pulled him into a hug, and Takumi found himself crying in spite of himself. His brother rarely showed such affection, and even though he was squished against cold metal armor he couldn’t contain himself.

_ It’s probably just the pregnancy hormones. _

Now that he was back he was only just realizing how disgusting he felt. Both physically, since he hadn’t bathed or changed clothes in several days, and emotionally. His brother was so relieved to have him back, and he didn’t even know the bombshell that was coming his way.

Ryoma ushered him into camp and commanded a few of the men to prepare a bath. Normally he would just bathe in a stream, but Ryoma wasn’t letting him out of sight. A wooden washtub was brought into his brother’s tent, and Ryoma left the room while he stripped down and got clean. The water wasn’t hot, but he was used to bathing in streams by this point.

He finished up and changed into some clothes his brother laid out for him, which he now realized was Ryoma’s sleeping yukata.

He sat on his brother’s cot and waited for him to come back in. The overly-long sleeves did a good job of hiding his fidgeting fingers at least. Ryoma re-entered the tent once he was dressed and sat down next to him.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, brother. You don’t have to fuss.”

But he didn’t look Ryoma in the eye. Instead he stared at his knees and played with the hem of his sleeve.

“Takumi… You were just  _ kidnapped _ . How can I  _ not  _ fuss? You haven’t spoken a word to anyone since you’ve been back.”

“I’ve only been back to camp for an hour!”

“...Is something the matter? Why won’t you look at me?”

He hadn’t even realized he was doing it until Ryoma brought it up. His eyes had been firmly fixed on his hands for the entire conversation as he psyched himself up to tell him about the pregnancy.

“Look… I… I h-have something to tell you.” He tried to keep the quiver out of his voice, but it wasn’t working. There was no easy way to do this.

“Well?”

“I… I’m pregnant.”

He watched as Ryoma clenched his fist and grit his teeth, and he mentally prepared himself for the lecture and the yelling. There was always a lecture and yelling.

“ _ Those bastards!” _

“W-What?” Who was he talking about?

“The Nohrians did this, didn’t they? They kidnapped you and they took advantage of you!”

“No! No that didn’t happen at all!” He put his face in his hands. This was not going how he’d expected at all.

“You don’t have to be ashamed. It’s not your fault they did this to you.”

“No. No, no, no! That  _ didn’t happen. _ ”

But Ryoma wasn’t listening to him. He was on his feet pacing the length of his tent, grumbling. His face was almost as red as his armor, and every pore was exuding rage. He tried to make himself as small as possible.

“Do you know who the father is?”

“Ryoma--”

“ _ Do you know who the father is? _ ”

He gulped. “Y-Yes.”

He barely managed to squeak it out. He hadn’t been planning on telling Ryoma any of that, but his brother’s rage was absolutely terrifying. And it wasn’t even directed at him.

“Well? Who is it?”

“I… It’s…” He drew his knees up to his chest and hid his face. “P-Prince Leo.”

He didn’t look to see his brother’s reaction, but  _ something  _ crashed. He whimpered pathetically and tried to squish himself as close to the tent wall as he could get. He didn’t even realize he was shaking until Ryoma sat on the bed next to him and placed a steadying hand on his shoulder.

“I’m sorry, little brother. But don’t worry, we can still fix this. I’ll call the healer. We can get rid of it, and you can go home and forget that this ever happened.”

“What? No!”

“No?”

“Please… I want it. I want to keep it.”

“... You can’t be serious?”

“I’m dead serious.”

“You can’t keep some Nohrian’s bastard! What if he finds out about it? What if he demands you come to Nohr with him? It would be legalized kidnapping!”

“I don’t want to kill it. Please Ryoma, just let me have this child.”

“... This is all just the hormones speaking. You’ll see, I’ll get the healer and in a few weeks you’ll be glad this is over. You’re too young to make this decision.”

“What, I’m too young to have  _ this  _ baby, but not all of the  _ other  _ children I’ll be pushing out for the prince or nobleman of your choosing?”

“I’m just doing what’s best for you.”

“You’re always ‘just doing what’s best’ for me! When do  _ I  _ get to make decisions about my own life? I’m not allowed to fight unless you say so! I’m not allowed to get married when I want or to who I want! I’m supposed to be some stupid porcelain doll that sits down and shuts up until some Alpha wants to stick their dick in me! Here’s an idea, maybe I don’t want that! Maybe you don’t  _ know  _ what’s best for me!”

“Takumi… I wish I could give you the life you want. And I’ve tried, but you have responsibilities. We both do. I’ve spent years trying to find you a mate that will love and respect you like you deserve because I  _ know  _ that this isn’t ideal.”

“Ryoma…” He took a deep breath and held it. His brother had given him an out, he’d be stupid not to take it. He could just get rid of the baby and go home. He wouldn’t have to admit to any of it, but he couldn’t hold it in any longer. “I’m  _ two months  _ pregnant.”

“... I see.”

He witnessed everything sort of click together in his brother’s head. His enraged expression turned sour.

“I… I loved him, Ryoma.”

It was still true, despite everything. He could barely believe the words leaving his mouth, but there they were. He knew he didn’t have to tell Ryoma this, but it was true. Even now his scent still made his head spin, and underneath that cold exterior he knew Leo had  _ something  _ left for him. Or maybe that something was reserved for their child, but either way it was  _ something _ .

“You do realize what you’re saying. If you keep this baby, you cannot stay here. There is no scenario where you raising a Nohrian bastard under our roof is acceptable.”

He knew what he would be facing at home. Of course he did. Getting pregnant without a mate was already taboo enough. He’d be branded a whore and disgraced. Even if he wasn’t completely disowned by his family, he would hardly be considered a prince any more. No more input, no more attending parties, no more public appearances. He and his baby would be stuffed into the proverbial closet and left to rot out of the public’s eye. He had been prepared for all of that, as long as it meant he would have his child and his family. As long as Ryoma protected him, he wouldn’t have to worry.

And now, Ryoma was saying that he wouldn’t protect him in any scenario. He would be disowned, plain and simple, if he had this baby. Which would mean crawling back to Leo, or making a life for himself on the streets.

His brother sighed.

“So I suppose we have two options. Either you give up the baby and come home, or I brand you a traitor and send you to Nohr.”

“I…”

“I won’t stop you from leaving, if that is what you wish. I won’t pretend that it wouldn’t hurt me, but I will not try to stop you. You will always be my little brother, and your happiness means the world to me. Maybe when this terrible war is over we could be a family again, but as long as we fight the Nohrians our relationship will be over.”

Now he suddenly wasn’t so sure. He always knew that this was a possibility, but hearing it laid out by Ryoma was really driving it home.  _ Were Leo and his baby worth losing his family completely?  _ War between Nohr and Hoshido had been one of the constants in his life. If they weren’t fighting, then they were biding their time and playing at peace until the next international incident sparked the old flames of war. Leaving might mean  _ never  _ speaking to his brother, or possibly any of his siblings, ever again.

But then again… He was responsible for this child. Wasn’t this baby part of his family too? And, by proxy, didn’t take make  _ Leo  _ part of his family? And for all he knew, Ryoma could marry him off to some foreign prince, and then  _ their  _ countries could go to war, too and the end result would be the same.

His brother stood up. “I’ll have some more fitting clothes sent over for you. You have until morning to make your decision. If you choose to leave, then I expect you to be well gone by the time I come back tomorrow.”

Ryoma left him alone in the tent for quite some time. He was exhausted from the day of travelling, the constant nausea, the excitement of returning, his brother’s interrogation… Basically  _ everything  _ was draining him lately, and he wanted nothing more than to sleep. His head nodded to the side and he almost dozed despite sitting straight up.

It was nearly dark when someone finally came back in. He was expecting a servant bringing dinner, but when the blue hair of his retainer peeked through he nearly cried.

“Oboro!” He’d been so caught up in his own predicament he’d forgotten to ask if she was even okay. The sudden guilt clawed at his chest painfully. What a terrible, selfish lord he was.

She limped in with an armful of what looked like his clothes. Her ankle was splinted and her arm was in a sling, but she was  _ alive _ . It was more than he could have hoped for, given what was happening the last time he saw her.

“Gods, what happened to you?”

She plopped down heavily on the bed beside him, and he scooted over to give her room.

“I held off Prince Leo for as long as I could, but he got my arm and I couldn’t use my naginata. Then the smoke got so thick and I figured you were probably far enough away that he wouldn’t be able to find you, so then  _ I _ ran to find you.”

She paused to take a breath and he collected his thoughts. He’d probably been long captured by Leo’s retainer by then. Maybe she would have found him, had he screamed louder… But then again, maybe it was good that he hadn’t. Wherever she’d ended up, it was far enough away to be out of danger of the fire at least. And there was no telling what Leo’s retainer would have done to her had she stumbled upon them with a busted arm.

“...But I couldn’t see anything, and I ended up tripping on a discarded sword and blacking out. Must have landed on my arm or something, I don’t really remember much after that. Kagero found me when…” She paused and took a deep breath. “When they were collecting the dead.”

“Oboro… I’m sorry.”

She shook her head. “I’m just glad that you’re safe. They told me you’d been captured and I… Well I would be the worst retainer in the world if  you died on my watch! What happened to you?”

“Leo kept me safe. He… He found out about the baby…”

“Oh no… But he let you go, right? Did… Does he not want it?”

He shook his head. “He actually asked me to return with him to Nohr so we could raise it together.”

“What? That’s ridiculous!”

He remained silent, and she was staring expectantly at him. Apparently she was expecting him to agree with her about how crazy an idea it was.

“Lord Takumi?”

“I’m thinking about doing it.”

“You… You can’t be serious?”

“Ryoma wants me to kill it. I… I don’t know if I can do that.”

“You would give up your family for a  _ Nohrian _ baby?”

He wrapped his arms around his stomach protectively.

“He’s Hoshidan, too.”

She sighed. “You always did do whatever you wanted.”

“You could come with me, right? You are my retainer after all, and Leo didn’t say I had to come alone.”

She just shook her head. “The healers said I can’t fight anymore. My arm was too badly broken. Im sorry, milord, but wherever you go I’ll just be a burden to you.”

“No… Oboro gods I…”

“You don’t have to apologize to me. I always knew this was a possibility.”

That didn’t stop him from feeling terrible about it. Maybe if he’d done something differently… If he hadn’t abandoned her then it would be different.

“What are you going to do then?”

She shrugged. “Head back to the capital? Try to get my family’s old tailoring business started again? I’d always been planning on doing that, once you had no more need of me. Though I’m not sure how I’ll get the money for it.”

He took her uninjured hand and squeezed. “Oh Oboro, I’ll always have need of you, even if you can’t be my retainer any longer. And I’m sure you’ll be greatly compensated for your services.”

Of course, he couldn’t necessarily make sure it happened. Ryoma had the final say on things like that, but he knew his brother and he never let a retired soldier go hungry. Oboro would surely be no different.

She’d been keeping a stiff upper lip thus far, but at that she started trembling and she pulled him into a hug with her good arm.

“I’ll miss you, Lord Takumi!”

“I’ll miss you too, Oboro.” Gods, if she started crying then  _ he  _ would start crying, and he couldn’t even blame the hormones this time.

“A-Anyways,” Her voice was shaking, but she wasn’t in tears yet, thankfully. “I asked Kagero to grab these after she found me. Sorry, there wasn’t much left after they torched the camp.”

She held the stack of clothes out to him. As it turned out, they were his clothes after all.

“Thank you.” He took the clothes gingerly and set them on his lap. It was essentially the same outfit he wore every day, but without the furs. Not that it mattered to him, he would just happy to get out of his brother’s yukata.

She didn’t leave the room after that, and he was happy to have her presence nearby. There was something comforting about it, even if they were just sitting in silence.

He’d always been a thinker. He’d always weighed his pros and his cons, always thought through every potential outcome. He didn’t leave things up to chance.

But this time… Well, he had no idea. In both scenarios the cons far outweighed the pros, to the point where the pros were not comparable. He could have his family, but not his baby. He could have his baby, but not his family. Both scenarios were equally incomprehensible to him.

But Ryoma had been much calmer than he’d expected… And from what he said, there was a  _ chance…  _ But did he really want to stake it all on a chance?

In the end, he didn’t have much of a choice. If he stayed he would definitely lose his baby. If he left, then there was a small glimmer of hope that he could have it all. And, at the end of the day, he would rather take the latter option.

Once he’d mate up his mind he got changed quickly, and before he left he gave Oboro one last hug.

“I’ll try to write you from Nohr.”

He didn’t wait to see the kind of face she’d pull. It was still around the dinner hour, so most of the soldiers were in the mess hall, save for a few lookouts. They’d apparently been informed by Ryoma because they didn’t try to stop him as he approached the edge of camp.

The narrow pass was blanketed in shadows. The sheer slopes ensured that not a drop of sunlight could reach down so far. It was a little intimidating, but he took a deep breath and made his way across.

As it turned out, Leo didn’t need to tell the Nohrian guards not to shoot him on sight. The Alpha was waiting for him almost exactly where he’d left him that afternoon.

Takumi almost didn’t see him at first for all of the darkness. His horse was gone, and he was sitting on a rock near the edge of the trail. Takumi wasn’t exactly trying to sneak, his feet dragged on the dirt and rocks loudly, so when Leo heard him approaching he stood up.

And, without thinking, Takumi ran to him and wrapped his arms around his waist.

He found his cheek pressed against cold metal for the second time that day. His tears were already running down the black and gold steel as the full weight of what he’d just done hit him. This was it, he wasn’t going home any time soon. The Nohrian awkwardly hugged him back.

“I-I’m sorry… H-He wanted me to kill it and I… I j-just couldn’t...”

After a few long, hesitant moments Leo embraced him fully. The Alpha rubbed circles small, comforting circles on his back as his body was wracked with sobs.

“Shh, it’s alright. Let’s get you back to camp.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Potential Trigger for mentions of abortion and the topic of rape is discussed very briefly.
> 
> And if you came down here just to read the TW, the rest of this end note may have chapter spoilers.
> 
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> 
> I'm just going to clarify this: I don't necessarily believe that abortion is murder or anything, or that you're a bad person for having one. But someone that wants to keep their baby might have that opinion, which is why Takumi uses words like "kill".
> 
> Basically, it's not meant to be political, and I don't think people who have had abortions are bad people at all. Just in case that needed to be said.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to post this on time but then AGDQ was this week so I got distracted.

He swore he didn’t breathe that entire day. He had to remind himself to manually draw air whenever his chest grew too tight, until he saw Takumi walking through the shadows.

Takumi clutched his cape and buried his face in his collar. He wasn’t sure how he should react. Did Takumi want to be comforted? Did he just want a shoulder to cry on? He hesitated, until he felt tears soak through the fabric of his shirt. Takumi was shaking and gasping, and so finally he wrapped his arms around his waist.

Seeing Takumi cry made his heart ache. The Omega had never cried in front of him, and frankly he was starting to think that he  _ never  _ cried. Clearly his family meant a lot to him, and it was stupid of him to assume that Takumi would be able to carelessly toss them aside for him. Then he said something that made his heart stop.

_ “He wanted me to kill it.” _

He’d thought that, in the very worst case scenario, his child would never know him. He hadn’t even considered the possibility that sending Takumi back to Hoshido could result in their baby’s  _ death. _ He twisted up the fabric on the back of the Hoshidan’s shirt and tried to contain his disgust. Takumi didn’t need to see his anger right now. He had come back. He wanted their baby. He wasn’t the one Leo was angry with.

The exhausted Omega practically collapsed into his arms once he’d cried himself out, and Leo ended up carrying him back into camp. His eyes were red and puffy, but dry so hopefully the other men wouldn’t notice. The last thing he wanted to do was embarrass the emotional man in his arms. There were whispers from the soldiers as he passed with their former-captive in his arms, but he shot them all an icy glare that ensured no one spoke up. When they arrived back at his tent he put Takumi in bed and pulled the covers over his shivering body.

He fell asleep right away, before Leo could even ask if he needed anything. He spent a few minutes just watching the pained, thousand-yard stare give way into a placid expression as he lightly snored.

After a while, he wasn’t sure how long Niles entered the tent just in time to catch him gently brushing the Omega’s silver bangs out of his eyes. Leo jumped away like he’d been burned, but he calmed down when he realized it was only his retainer. He should have known, Niles was the only person that would dare enter his tent without announcing himself first aside from Xander. Why did he keep such a rude retainer around again?

“Oh gods, not now Niles.”

“I see now why you wanted me to take him. He’s quite pretty. Though I never suspected that your secret lover was the second prince of Hoshido.”

He sighed. There was no point in hiding it any longer. Takumi was here and safe, and they were going to become obvious enough eventually to his keen retainer.

“Alright, what do you want to know.”

“Oh? You’re finally ready to be honest with me?”

“Do you want to know or not?”

“Hmm, well I’m not sure what to ask. Aside from the revelation that your  _ secret lover  _ is Hoshidan I’m sure I’ve already guessed the rest.” He whispered as lowly as he could, a slight glint to his eye that spoke volumes.

“Have you?”

“You aren’t exactly subtle, Milord.”

He wasn’t sure if that was true. Xander hadn’t noticed a thing, at least nothing specific. And if his brother hadn’t noticed, he doubted anyone else had. Maybe it was the result of spending far too much time together that made Niles so perceptive of him.

“So, what do you think happened then?”

“I suppose it happened on your ‘very uninteresting’ vacation, and you’ve continued meeting during your little late night walks, am I right?” His retainer tried to keep it as vague as possible, in case there were any prying ears. Tents weren’t exactly the most soundproof material.

“Pretty much.” Gods, was he really so transparent? Maybe everyone else really  _ had _ noticed, and they’d just had the decency not to talk about it with him. “Have you guessed the last thing?”

“Oooh there’s  _ more? _ Give me the juicy gossip, Milord.”

That tone almost made him want to kick the albino man out, but he grit his teeth and ignored it. But he did lean in close to whisper. Niles was looking at him like a young school girl gossiping about boys or something equally juvenile.

“He’s pregnant.”

“Damn. You really fucked up, huh Lord Leo?” He didn’t even look remotely surprised by this fact. Leo was, once again, kicking himself for being so apparently obvious.

“Don’t remind me.”

He had to keep in mind that he wasn’t as fucked as he could have been. It was lucky enough that Takumi came back, but that was no guarantee that the Omega was pleased with him from this point forward. Like he’d said, he only came back because his brother would have made him get rid of the baby. The thought alone made him livid, though he wasn’t sure if it was out of love for the Hoshidan, his instinctual protectiveness of his unborn pup, or both.

“Would you watch over him? I need to speak to Xander about our most recent development.

“Aw,  _ just  _ watch?”

He scowled. Takumi was already going to have a hard enough time adjusting to Nohr. He really didn’t need Niles to be creepy around him, even if it wasn’t a serious attempt by his retainer.

“Don’t get any ideas.”

Niles raised his arms in the air and followed him out of the tent. “Just a joke, Milord.”

His brother had arrived at the forward lines earlier that day, but after Leo had arrived to return Takumi. He hadn’t wanted to update his brother until he knew for certain that Takumi wasn’t coming back to him.

Xander was waiting for him in his tent. His brother didn’t even have to ask, as soon as they were in relative privacy it all spilled over.

“He came back.” He sagged in relief. Just saying it aloud was a huge weight off of his shoulders.

“You didn’t force him to, did you? You didn’t threaten him?”

“What  _ exactly  _ do you take me for, brother?

“You haven’t experienced it before. I have. We Alphas tend to… Get a certain way about our pups. I would understand if you had overstepped.”

He knew what his brother was referring to. Ever since he’d discovered the pregnancy there was a constant clawing feeling in his chest. Every second he couldn’t be there… Every moment he wasted away from Takumi just fed the anxiety. He had to know that he was taken care of. He had to know that their pup was going to be okay.

“No! He… He said that they wanted him to get rid of it. Our baby.”

“... Well then, for better or for worse Prince Takumi is part of our pack now.”

“So, where do we go from here?”

It wasn’t safe for a pregnant Omega to be on the battlefield, or really anywhere near it. He had no one to watch after him here while they went to battle. Once he got far enough along he wouldn’t be able to travel with the army, either. And a dirty camp in the woods was no place for his child to be born. He should be somewhere safe, warm… With hot baths and warm beds and people that could help take care of him. Best case scenario, it would be at least a year before Takumi could travel again after after their pup was born.

But taking him back to the capital would also be problematic. King Garon wouldn’t exactly like the idea of a half-breed child running around. For their baby to be safe in Castle Krakenburg, his father would have to be dead.

That said, if he left the battlefield there was nowhere to go  _ but  _ the capital. Father would consider anything else an act of treason, unless he was explicitly ordered to be elsewhere.

But now that he was facing down the possibility they had to think, and think fast. Takumi was already two months along. They had another month before the healers would start restricting travel by horse, and if he were showing too visibly by the time they got back to the capital then he would lose his chance to placate father.

“We didn’t alert any of the soldiers of Takumi’s return. The most recent news to Father will just be that we have the Hoshidan Prince in custody.”

He thought he followed Xander’s line of logic.

“... I could take him back to the capital under the guise of a prisoner of war.”

“Exactly. But you have to stake your claim on him quickly. You know how father is.”

A pretty Omega was appealing the the Nohrian king, no matter their nationality. In fact, he might even take an extra liking due to the...  _ exotic  _ factor. It wouldn’t be the first time. They’d taken prisoners from Hoshido before, though they rarely got their hands on Omegas. He didn’t have to take Takumi as a mate, but he did have to make it clear that  _ he  _ wanted ownership over this one.

“Don’t worry Xander, I know.”

“Leo… I have to know. What are your intentions with him?”

“... I would hope that someday he would allow me to be his mate.”

There was no telling if Takumi would  _ ever  _ be receptive to that idea. And even if Takumi did want that, there was no guarantee that they would be able to do it. There were many nobles with young Omegas, and Leo was what they would refer to as “prime real estate”. He was young, attractive, a prince, and -- as he’d recently learned -- apparently quite capable of giving them many heirs to solidify their social standing. Had this ridiculous war not been going on he would be preparing to court, wed, and start his own family within the next few years.

Truth be told, he’d been looking forward to it just a little. Not because he thought he would find his ideal mate, but because it would give him the chance to do something  _ normal. _ As much as their father spouted about the glory of Nohr, there was nothing  _ normal  _ about being sent to the front lines as a young teenager to lead tens of thousands of men to their deaths.

“Leo, you know that could never happen.”

“Not while father lives. But let’s face it, father is getting old and frail. He’ll be dead before long.”

“Leo! You shouldn’t talk like that!”

“Please, you know it’s true! I wouldn’t be surprised if he calls you home soon, too. He’ll never say it, but he needs to begin preparing you for your coronation.”

“Keep your voice down! Your words border on treason, little brother.”

“I know things will be tough for us… But I know you dislike this war as much as I do, and if you make peace with the Hoshidans that the nobility will fall in line.”

“They  _ might  _ fall in line. You know better than to rely on chance.”

It was true, but it had been working for him so far. He’d gotten to this point on nothing short of pure luck.

“Well, I don’t think we have to worry about it for a long time. He still hates me.” The thought made his chest constrict. Maybe if he’d been kinder when they’d taken Takumi… Maybe if he’d been less resentful… But there was nothing he could do about it now.

Xander squeezed his shoulder affectionately.

“He’s here now. As long as he’s here, there is always a chance. Take care of him as best you can; It’s all you can do.”

They decided that it would be best to travel home as soon as possible. He and Takumi would start their journey tomorrow, if the Hohsidan was feeling up for the trip. With that in mind, he dismissed Niles and tried to get some sleep.

* * *

 

Takumi was awake before him, for once. Had he not been so focused on the Omega, Leo wasn’t sure he would have noticed. He was being so quiet, and he wasn’t doing anything in particular, just… Sitting there, staring blankly into space.

“How are you doing?”

The Omega just shrugged his shoulders.

“Do you need anything?”

He shook his head.

“... Okay. We’re going to be heading back to the capital today. I’ll get you some food, you need to keep your strength up on the journey.”

Takumi ate just as ravenously as he had before, which Leo was at least taking as a good sign. At least his appetite was still high, though that was probably because he hadn’t had any dinner the night before.

He wanted to get started as early as possible. It would be several days of travel before they made it back to Windmire, and he wanted to spend as few days camping out in the wilderness as possible. Xander allowed him a small contingent of guards and horses to travel with, and Niles would be coming along as well.

Even with all that protection, this was  _ Nohr  _ they were talking about. He’d never met a bandit that wouldn’t take the opportunity to try and rob such a small caravan blind. That meant extra time would need to be spent travelling far off the road to set up, and cookfires were completely out of the question. It would be long, and miserable, and he didn’t want to put his pregnant Omega through that.

He was just finishing up preparing the horses when he heard a loud  _ smack _ resound through the area. He immediately dropped what he was doing and ran in the direction of the noise.

He wouldn’t have at all been surprised if one of the soldiers had slapped Takumi. He was still being regarded as a prisoner, and by Nohrian standards he would be considered rather mouthy. But he hadn’t spoken a word all day, and Leo didn’t want to add  _ getting abused by Nohrian soldiers  _ to his list of recent traumas.

He got there just in time to see his retainer clutching his cheek, and a visibly shaken Omega glaring up at him.

“Do  _ not  _ touch me!”

“What’s going on here?”

Niles shook his head. “Nothing, Milord, just a misunderstanding.”

He glanced between the two men, but he would have to ask later. He placed a hand on the small of Takumi’s back and guided him away from the rogue and toward his horse.

“He was being creepy.”

“Of that I have no doubt. What did he do?”

“He tried to grab me and put me up on his horse.”

He helped Takumi up onto his own horse, then climbed up behind him. He’d have to teach him to ride later, it really wasn’t good for his horse to carry two people for so long. But he also didn’t want Takumi to get bucked off or hurt himself, so he would just have to make it up to her later with plenty of carrots and sugar cubes.

It was a long ride, and Takumi didn’t say a word the entire time. He still shook a bit every time they hit a bump and he had to hold on tight, but otherwise he wasn’t freaking out as badly as the first time they’d done this. By the time they stopped for camp he’d hazard to say that the Omega had even gotten comfortable with it, though his balance still left a lot to be desired.

The next three days continued like this. He got maybe three total sentences out of Takumi the entire time, and two of those were only brought on by discussion of their pup.

On the morning of the third day they finally came within sight of Windmire

The lip of the crater that housed Nohr’s capital city was just a small blot on the horizon, but if they made good time then they would be there by nightfall. He slowed their speed a bit and leaned forward.

“You’re going to have to meet my father when we arrive, and I need you to understand some things before we get there.”

He waited for Takumi to nod to show that he understood.

“When we get to the throne room, you need to kneel. Don’t say a word, okay? He has some very… Traditional views of Omegas. Don’t say a word to anyone about the baby, unless I tell you that you can trust them. Xander and Niles are okay, and I’m going to notify my sisters Camilla and Elise once we arrive. Tell no one else.”

His father didn’t need to know. If at all possible, he wanted to hide it completely… Or at least as long as possible. If he was right and King Garon really was as close to death as he thought, then it was possible that he wouldn’t need to know at all. Xander was understanding, but what he’d done  _ was  _ treason. If it became known to anyone then it would become problematic to say the least.

“... Alright.”

They arrived mid afternoon, though he supposed to the Hoshidan it wasn’t too different from night time. Takumi was shivering between his arms, and he made a mental note to get him warmer clothes. Even the summers in Nohr were cold compared to Hoshido, and they were approaching fall. He was actually relieved to be back under the familiar, comforting blanket of darkness. It was nothing compared to the beach, but even the Hoshidan summer had him sweating underneath his mass of back armor.

As soon as they reached the stables the Omega ran outside and vomited, and Leo really hoped that he would be able to hold on until after they’d finished talking to father. He didn’t want even a hint, even a  _ whisper  _ of his condition to reach his father’s ears before it was absolutely necessary. King Garon wasn’t stupid, and neither were his advisers. If Takumi showed any obvious symptoms they would know, and it wouldn’t end well for either him or the Hoshidan.

Takumi followed his instructions to the letter -- though thankfully there wasn’t much for him to do. He didn’t want to risk anything when it came to the Omega beside him. Takumi’s head was bowed just so, but if he looked closely enough he could see the scowl setting in on the Omega’s mouth. Of course he would find it degrading. Takumi had always been a  _ prince _ , and princes didn’t kneel. Unless, of course, said kneeling was a part of kinky foreplay and he was going to get  _ that  _ out of his mind before it was too late.

The Nohrian king was lounging on his throne, high up on its dais. The high ceilings and the stone made the entire room feel frigid, and the effect of the torches and purple and gold banners lining the ceiling was negligible.

Father didn’t speak in the common tongue, despite the presence of the Hoshidan beside him. Father never spoke in the common tongue, and when he was around none of his siblings did either. He thought it was insulting. Everyone else should simply speak Nohrian, as it was  _ clearly  _ the best language.

He bowed deeply before addressing him.

“Father.”

“I see now why you have returned. This is the youngest Hoshidan prince?”

“The very same. We captured him in our last battle. He will be excellent leverage against the Hoshidans in future conflicts.”

The king laughed. The sound always sent shivers down his spine, and that effect was doubled as it echoed around the large, empty room.

“My boy, you are becoming more ruthless by the day.” He turned his eyes on Takumi, and mentally Leo chanted  _ don’t find anything off about him. _ It took a painfully long second for him to continue. “He’s quite lovely, have you any plans for him?”

Here it came, the moment of truth. He hated doing this, but it was all to protect Takumi and their baby. He’d always been quite the liar, so he had no doubt that he could pull this off… But it made him feel slimy inside. He tried not to let his disgust show on his face as the words left his lips.

“Yes, I’ve taken quite a liking to him. I think I’d like to keep him. As a spoil of war, if you will.”

He reached over and stroked the Omega’s hair with his fingers. Takumi jumped and shivered beneath his fingertips.

_ Good. Look scared. It’ll convince him that you’re not a threat. _

“Yes, you’ve earned it I think. I don’t blame you, I’m sure he’ll make a wonderful slave for you. Do let me know if you tire of him.”

He bowed deeply once more. “If that is all, I’ve been away at war for too long. I would like to get him… acquainted, with my bedroom.”

King Garon laughed again, and soon after devolved into a coughing fit as he tried to dismiss them. Leo took that as his cue to go, and he pulled Takumi up by the elbow and practically dragged him from the throne room. It looked good, but really was just doing it to get away from his father as quickly as possible.

“What was that about? What did he say?”

“Nothing worth repeating.” He grit his teeth angrily. He would just have to bear it, just for a little while longer. Then he and Takumi could live in the open, with no secrets. Even if the royal court never acknowledged him as anything more than a concubine, no one would find it strange for them to have a child. No one would find it strange if he loved him. They’d been hiding for so long... He didn’t want any more secrets.

He glanced over at the Omega. He was clutching his stomach, bent slightly at the waist and shuffling along slowly as they made their way to his room.

Okay, maybe a few secrets.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm not sure exactly how many more chapters of this story there'll be. Probably around five or six more, we're kind of moving toward the endgame. I'll probably update the chapter estimate when I figure it out.


	16. Chapter 16

He’d never been to Nohr, and now that he was here he was kind of wishing it had stayed that way. They camped far in the woods, among the gnarled, bare branches and putrid bogs and strange birds that screeched and set his teeth on edge.

He thought he’d gotten over his fear of the dark long ago, but that was not the case. In Nohr the nights were pitch black -- he couldn’t see more than a few inches in front of his face. There were no stars, and the moon was hidden behind a thick blanket of black clouds. The first night they camped he was on the verge of a full-blown panic attack, and he probably would have succumbed to it had it not been for the Alpha sleeping a few feet away from him. He desperately wanted to be closer, to feel his warmth on his back so that  _ maybe  _ he could sleep, but he didn’t. Instead he hid his face and shivered under his blanket until daybreak.

Even when day came, it wasn’t much better. He still couldn’t well for all of the fog, and noon looked more like dusk back home. And he was  _ exhausted  _ from three days of no sleep. At least during the day they were moving, and he felt secure sitting between Leo’s arms on the horse.

And if he’d thought the capital would be much better? Well, he was sorely mistaken. He noticed as they approached that he didn’t see anything that looked particularly castle-like. The palace in Hoshido towered high into the air, but all he saw at a glance was a huge crater. He didn’t realize it until they were much closer, but Castle Krakenburg was in a  _ hole  _ within the crater.

Everything was made of stone and steel, and the pathways were dimly illuminated by the torches hung along the walls. There were hardly any windows, though he supposed that they wouldn’t serve much use.

_ This  _ is where Leo grew up? Shirasagi felt so warm and inviting… He had so many fond memories of playing under the cherry blossoms and running through the sunbathed halls. He found it hard to imagine any child here.

He’d did as Leo instructed in their audience with the king, and just the man’s presence sent a chill through his bones. He saw now why Leo was so intense about his behavior. They carried out the entirety of their conversation in the Nohrian tongue, and he was dying to know what was said. It was obvious that they were talking about him, if Leo’s hand stroking his hair was any indication. He wasn’t stupid, he knew how Alphas thought, and it didn’t take a genius to figure out that King Garon’s hungry gaze was not innocent in its intent.

And then when it was over Leo practically dragged him away from that oppressive room. He had no idea where they were going, so he stuck as closely to Leo as he could get as they made their way. Wherever it was, he hoped that he could lie down. His stomach was doing him absolutely no favors at the moment and he hadn’t slept in three days. He was genuinely surprised that he’d managed to make it almost three days on horseback without puking all over himself or passing out and falling straight off the horse.

He couldn’t pinpoint exactly what bothered him about the castle until they reached their destination -- Leo’s room. Okay, so a lot of things bothered him about the castle, but there was  _ one _  thing __ in particular. It all felt so… Impersonal.

There were no indicators that this room belonged to the Alpha that lived in it, aside from a bookshelf that held several books of their shared interests. The rest just felt so… Sterile? Was that the word? He knew that Leo probably hadn’t lived in the room for a long time, but there were no personal effects or knickknacks or mementos or  _ anything. _ Again, if it weren’t for the books he would have assumed that he’d been lead into a guest room. It must have been a feature of Nohr. The halls contained no artwork, no decoration at all. They were so conspicuous in their absence that it made him uncomfortable.

Back home, his room had training bows, portraits, little toys from festivals past… The halls had vases full of cut flowers and portraits of past kings and queens… There was none of that here. The room didn’t even  _ smell _ like Leo, though he supposed that was to be expected when the Alpha had been away at war for the last few years.

The majority of the room was occupied by a large four poster bed. It had been immaculately made and staged, with at least half a dozen useless pillows leaned up against the dark wood headboard. There were two end tables, both of them completely bare aside from a stray book, and a small settee at the foot of the bed. There were two narrow windows along one of the walls, and both were hung with heavy velvet curtains.  _ Why  _ exactly Nohrians needed  _ curtains  _ of all things was beyond him. For privacy, sure, but who exactly was going to be peeking in? Their castle was located  _ in a hole. _ Between the two windows was a desk and a chair, made of the same material as the bed posts. Again, with nothing on it but an inkwell, and a few pieces of parchment for writing.

There was also an armoire, a set of drawers, and a vanity with a stool in the room, and a door that led into what appeared to be a bathroom. He peeked in. So, Nohrians had their own bathrooms included in their rooms, with a bath and everything?

“Is… Is this your room?”

“I thought you looked like you could use some rest. Here, lie down.”

Leo took his shoes and set them aside -- As a force of habit he’d taken them off as soon as he stepped in -- and helped him shrug off the outermost layers of his outfit. It was even colder without them, so he quickly pulled the covers around him in the too-soft bed.

The Alpha made some comment about finding a someone to check over him, but he was already half asleep by the time the heavy wooden door slammed shut.

 

* * *

When he woke up next, it was to a small blonde girl standing over him with a stave in her hand. The little red orb on the end was glowing ominously in the dark, like the eyes of one of the many demons that inhabited his nightmares. He knocked the thing to the ground, shattering the red orb in the process. Leo had to grab him by the shoulder to keep him from rolling off the bed.

“Takumi! Calm down, this is just my little sister Elise.”

She picked up the staff from the ground and poked at a few glass shards with the tip. “This one was close to breaking anyways. But I  _ told  _ you we should have waited until he was awake!”

“I wasn’t sure how long he was going to sleep for. I wanted to make sure that everything was okay first.”

“Well, no need to worry! They’re both doing fine!”

Leo must have told her about the baby, then. He was relieved to hear that everything was okay. He’d been through the wringer the past few days, both physically and emotionally. First he’d gotten thrown around like a rag doll, and tied up, and then he’d been through the emotional roller coaster of returning home only to be turned out again, travelling through Nohr for the first time, nearly four days of horseback riding, and now he was stressed out about how much he had been _worrying._ He was a nervous wreck and the baby wasn’t even _born,_ how the hell was he going to survive actually raising them?

“Oh my gosh, where are my manners! I’m Princess Elise, but you can just call me Elise okay?” She giggled and took his limp hand in her own in sort of a bastardized hand shake. Really, it was more her flapping his limp wrist before she let it slide back down onto his lap.

He quickly realized that she was also an Omega, and the only other Omega he’d met since he’d been in Nohr. That wasn’t saying much though, since he’d only been to a war camp and then the castle, but he was  _ very  _ relieved that he wasn’t going to be surrounded by Alphas until the day he died.

She was also still very young, or at least she appeared to be. Maybe fifteen or sixteen years old at the most, right around Sakura’s age. Though her princess-y dress and tone made her seem like she was barely old enough to have presented. She was unmated as well, if the collar around her neck was any indication.

“Don’t let her childishness fool you, she’s actually quite the healer. Elise, this is Prince Takumi.”

“It’s nice to meet you! You’re really pretty. I mean, I’ve heard stories and stuff but W-O-W!”

“Elise!” Leo hissed. Was he… Blushing?

“Uhm… Thank you..?” She’d heard stories? From whom? Had Leo been describing him as  _ pretty  _ to his little sister? Had Leo even talked about him at all? He was a prince after all, he wouldn’t be surprised if people talked about him even here.

“Why do you keep your hair so long? Can I play with it? Oh, I’m so happy to have another Omega around! Life is so lame with only Alphas for siblings!”

A third voice entered the conversation. This time it was another woman, but her voice was much more mature… It was low and sultry, if he had to describe it in one word.

“Alright Elise, that’s enough. I’m sure Prince Takumi needs to rest.”

He hadn’t even noticed the purple haired Alpha standing in the doorway. He’d taken a long time to temper his natural Omega instinct to shrink back whenever an Alpha entered the room, but just her presence made him want to again. She was extremely intimidating. She was just as tall as Leo, maybe even a little taller and she exuded raw power, like she could snap him in half without even trying. He had to crane his neck up to look her in the eye from his place on the bed, otherwise he would be staring straight into her… Er…  _ Chest area _ .

Though, when he looked in her eyes they contained a spark of childish innocence, and when she spoke it was kind and soft. He didn’t know which impression of her to believe.

“I apologize, she can be very enthusiastic. I’m Camilla, are you doing alright dear?”

“Er… I’m fine, thank you Princess Camilla.” He mustered all of his willpower to keep looking her in the eye. Here he thought he’d shaken off that conditioning  _ years  _ ago.

“Oh please, just Camilla is fine. You’re going to give us another little niece or nephew after all!”

“Sister! Not so loud!” Leo hissed, then he slammed the open door shut. Takumi jumped a little from his place on the bed.

“I take it you haven’t told father yet?”

“You know that I couldn’t. You know how father is.”

_ How father is? _ What  _ exactly  _ was Leo talking about? He had to admit that he knew woefully little about the Nohrian king, aside from his bloodthirsty nature, ruthless tactics, and insane demeanor. That wasn’t much to go off of, especially considering the Hoshidan army’s penchant for hyperbole and propaganda.

“How crass. Bringing your pregnant Omega home and keeping him hidden away. Well, don’t worry dearie.” She turned back to him. “I’ll make sure you’re taken care of from now on.”

“I’m sorry, but what  _ exactly  _ is going on here?” This entire conversation was over his head. It was like he’d opened a book and started reading from the third chapter. He knew the situation, but the setup was completely lost to him. Camilla was going to take care of him? What about Leo? He might not be particularly happy with the blonde at the moment, but he was still the only Alpha he remotely trusted within a hundred mile radius.

“I’m afraid our dear brother is awfully busy, so I’ve offered to oversee your training.”

“Training?” What was he, a dog?

“Of course. You need to know how to conduct yourself around the royal court.”

He wanted to tell her, in no uncertain terms, that he  _ already knew how to do that. _ But he bit his tongue just in time. He had to remind himself that he wasn’t in Hoshido anymore, and that things probably were different here. The last thing he wanted to do was make a fool of himself.

“Camilla, we really must be going. It’s almost time for dinner. I’m sorry Takumi, we can continue this conversation later. In the meantime you should rest.”

He wanted to object, but he was still so damn  _ tired.  _ He couldn’t have slept long, and the hour or so was not nearly enough to compensate for three days of missed shut eye. He fell back against the pillows and crossed his arms petulantly.

“Fine.”

Leo pulled the blankets back over his lap.

“I’ll bring you some food later, okay? We must have something around here that won’t make you nauseous.”

He tried to get back to sleep. He so desperately wanted to. There was so much information spinning around in his head that he knew it would be hopeless.

_ Why are they going to dinner without me? Why is Camilla responsible for me? What exactly is the plan here, if they even have one? _

He spent a few minutes just staring blankly at the wall, but it wasn’t going to work. If he wasn’t going to sleep, then he needed to be doing something to keep his mind busy. If he stopped for too long, then he would start thinking of home again, and  _ that  _ was dangerous for his mental stability.

So, instead he decided to get up and look around. Well, snoop might have been a better word. He just wanted to get a better idea of his new environment, there was no harm in that, right? He stepped quietly over the rugs, sneaking like he was going to be caught out of bed by his father. Even with the carpet the floors of the castle were freezing cold, and he was beginning to regret taking his shoes off when he remembered the broken glass by the bed.

He decided to start with Leo’s desk. It had drawers, and he figured that if any item in the room was going to contain helpful information it was probably that one. Unfortunately, the drawers didn’t contain much of note. Just some spare quills, ink, and parchment. Though he did notice that the drawer seemed a bit deeper than its contents let on.

He pulled the paper out carefully and left the stack on the desk. Underneath was a book, and the title was printed in the bold characters of his mother tongue. A quick glance told him that it was another botany book, and he couldn’t suppress the eye roll. Yep, this was Leo’s room alright. Why he had a Hoshidan book on botany was a mystery to him; it wasn’t as if he could read it right?

There were a few pieces of parchment sticking out over the edges of the cover, so he flipped it open. They were half-hearted attempts at translation, though they were laughably bad. Leo apparently had some very rudimentary knowledge of the characters, which he supposed was more than he knew about Nohrian. It probably wasn’t easy without any sort of translation guide, and there weren’t exactly a lot of Hoshidan-to-Nohrian dictionaries lying around the world. Any that existed weren’t very comprehensive, and mainly contained things that merchants and traders might need to know. Oboro’s parents used to have one; He’d skimmed through it once or twice. He’d considered asking her for it, but she never got rid of or gave away anything her parents used to own.

He gently replaced the book in its hiding spot and shut the drawer. Aside from that, there wasn’t much of interest in Leo’s room. The dresser and armoire were exclusively full of clothing, the vanity had some combs and hair bands, and the bathroom had all of the typical bathroom staples. He thought that maybe the Alpha might have some mementos hidden around, but the book appeared to be it for the room’s secrets.

It was… Incredibly frustrating. He was hoping to get some sense of the place, or to at least get his bearings but it appeared that wouldn’t be easy. He’d finally resigned himself and started scanning the bookshelf for something he could read when Leo reappeared. He was carrying a tray of food in one hand.

“Oh, I thought you’d be asleep. Are you hungry?”

Why was he always asking him that? He needed things other than food! Okay, he needed food too. He was pretty much always hungry when he wasn’t sick, but that wasn’t the point!

“Leo… What’s going on here?” Everything since he’d arrived had been a whirlwind of information he had no standard for comprehending. Leo hadn’t explained anything on the trip, and anything that might have been illuminating in his conversation with King Garon was completely incomprehensible to him.

“Don’t worry, okay? I’m taking care of everything.”

“No, Leo! I need to know what’s going on, okay? I’m supposed to be raising our child here, you can’t keep me in the dark! What are we doing? What’s going to happen to me?”

There was far more going on here than he’d first thought. Leo hadn’t spoken much about his father in their time together, or really much about Nohr at all. His mind drifted back to that book hidden in the drawer. It was the only Hoshidan thing he’d seen so far, why was it hidden? Did Nohr’s hatred for his people run so deep that a  _ book  _ was considered that offensive?

Leo set the plate of food on the nightstand.

“Look I… I don’t want to burden you with this. You’re in a… delicate state right now.”

“Leo, I don’t really have the luxury of being  _ delicate _ . Don’t tell me that I can’t know what’s going to happen to me in  _ my own life!” _ Damn it, he didn’t need protecting from the world! He was sick of the white lies and the sugarcoating! He’d been putting up with it for most of his life, from Mama, from Ryoma, and now from Leo!

“You’re right. I’m sorry.”

Takumi crossed his arms over his chest. “Well?”

“Officially? You’re now my concubine.”

_ “Concubine?!”  _ He snarled. He knew Leo didn’t love him anymore but… Well he was a  _ prince  _ damn it! Concubine was just code for unpaid prostitute as far as he was concerned. “You knocked me up, and that’s all I am to you?”

“That’s all you can be.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“You don’t want me to lie to you? Fine. The royal court thinks your people are lazy and spoiled. They think you’re the worst of all of them, a prince personifies his country, after all. My father thinks even worse of you, in case you were worried that wasn’t possible. Our baby? An abomination. If they knew how far along you are then they would hang the both of us or worse.”

He couldn’t believe his ears. He’d always known that Nohr hated Hoshido, but to this extent? Back home Ryoma would  _ never _ stoop to such levels, despite Nohr being the aggressor in all of their wars throughout history.

“I thought you said we would be safe here!” He growled low in his throat. He glared up at the Alpha. “Why the hell would you ask me to come here! You put both me and our pup at risk!”

“I didn’t ask you to get pregnant! I didn’t ask you to put us in this position!”

“ _ I  _ put us in this position?  _ ‘Why don’t we make the most of it’ _ , do you remember who said that? Because it sure as hell wasn’t me!”

“Was I supposed to read your mind? I didn’t know you were close to your heat!” Leo took a deep breath and sighed. “I wish it didn’t have to happen like this. I wish this could have come at a time when Nohr was more stable but it didn’t, okay? I’m doing my best to keep you safe.”

“You’re doing your best? So what happens in seven months when this baby is born? You’ll  _ do your best  _ to keep the nobles from throwing it into a river?”

“You’re just going to have to trust me, okay? I know what the Nohrian nobles are like. No one is going to look twice at a pregnant concubine, we just have to hold off announcing the pregnancy for a month or two.”

He’d had no idea what he was walking into when he’d decided to return to Leo. The idea hadn’t even crossed his mind -- Not a single Alpha in his family kept concubines. Most Alphas in Hoshido didn’t, actually, and if they did it was usually only because their mate couldn’t bear pups.

He didn’t want to be a concubine. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to stomach the thought, even if he was doing it for his pup. He hadn’t exactly been expecting to be made Leo’s mate but… Well, what if Leo found another Omega to mate? What would happen to him? Was he meant to raise their child alone? Sure, an existence in a royal palace as a concubine was better than a life on the streets but… Well, the thought of Leo with another Omega hanging off his arm… It distressed him. He or she would probably give Leo plenty of pups and a nice family, and he’d be left to rot with their illegitimate bastard. He’d be nothing but a fond memory, and maybe an occasional fuck toy.

Is this how Leo had felt when he’d pictured him with another Alpha? But that was different, wasn’t it? He had a baby to look after now, and concubines no matter how well loved were disposable.  _ He _ was disposable.

“How can I trust you?” He whispered, half to himself. “After everything you’ve done? How can I be sure that you’ll do what’s best for me?”

“I know you don’t believe that I have your best interests at heart. I’m not expecting that. But if you won’t trust me to take care of you, then at least trust me to take care of our pup.”

The idea still made him uneasy. That was all well and good, but if Leo just wanted their pup then...

“Once this baby is born… What will I be to you? What will happen to me?”

“I need you around… Children need their mother.”

That didn’t answer his question. It didn’t mean anything, aside from the fact that Leo  _ probably  _ wouldn’t toss him out on the street like trash.

“Eat. Get some rest. We can talk about this more tomorrow, I promise.”

“Isn’t this your room? You want me to sleep in the same bed as you?”

“I… I’ll sleep on the floor. I don’t think that you should be alone.”

He huffed and sat back down on the bed with his plate of food. What the hell was wrong with this place?

* * *

Camilla woke him up early the next morning. Or, what he assumed was morning. The room had gone from pitch black to a murky dark grey, so he supposed that qualified as morning in Nohr.

“Come on dear, it’s time to get up. We have a lot to do today.”

She’d already laid some clothes out on the bed for him to change into. They were all Nohrian in style, and when he put them on he realized they were made for someone much taller than him. Were these Leo’s clothes?

“So! First, I’m going to give you a tour of the castle. Then we have a meeting with a tailor to get you fitted into some new clothes, and after that we can start going over the basics.”

“Why can’t I wear  _ my  _ clothes?”

“Those dirty things? You’ve been travelling for days! I’ll have them washed for you.”

He had a feeling that wasn’t really the reason. Leo felt the need to hide a Hoshidan book, a Hoshidan Omega walking around in Hoshidan clothes would probably be too much. He changed out of the last of his clothing, and he had a sneaking suspicion that was the last time he was going to see that outfit. With that done, she dragged him out of the room and started their little tour.

He noticed, despite his sleep addled brain, that she only took him to particular sections. They started with the guest wing, dining room, kitchens, the courtyard… But they went nowhere near the throne room or the surrounding areas. When he asked, she simply stated that he would never need to go to these areas, they were Alpha-territory.

That was something of a common theme that emerged throughout. The phrase “Alpha-territory”. It seemed like just about everything interesting was considered “Alpha-territory”. Even the stupid  _ library. _

They were just turning back toward the royal wing when they ran into a maid: A stern looking woman that kept her thin hair in neat little pigtails.

“Ah Flora! Perfect, I was just hoping to see you.”

She curtsied, bowing her head slightly.

“What can I do for you M’lady?”

The woman -- a beta, he realized -- looked briefly in his direction. There was no missing the pure, unadulterated disgust that flashed behind her eyes before she turned back to Camilla. She didn’t speak to him or acknowledge him beyond that.

“If you could please have breakfast for two delivered.”

“Right away.” She curtsied again before running off, presumably to notify the kitchens.

He didn’t even know how to react. It made him feel small, insignificant… No one had ever dared to treat him with such blatant disrespect. Even a  _ maid  _ wouldn’t address him? Was this how all concubines were treated?

They finished the tour in the royal wing, back to where they’d started. The hall had several doors lined up on either side of the corridor, and at the end there was another, much larger door. That was King Garon’s quarters, he supposed. Camilla showed him the specific rooms of each royal sibling, but they skipped over a lot of doors. A lot of empty rooms. The thought made him sad, though he had to remind himself that the castle was probably built with litters of ten or more in mind.

He thought they were done after he’d seen four, but at the end they came to a fifth room. It was directly across the hall from Leo’s door, and the inside had several pieces of furniture all covered in sheets.

“What’s this supposed to be?”

“Well, you and Leo are going to need a room for the little one, are you not?”

He systematically went around the room with Camilla’s approval, tearing the cloths off of each and every item of furniture. A dresser. A desk. An armoire. He got around to the last item: A bassinet. He took a quick sweep of the room.

_ Our child will live here. _

One of the drawers in the dresser was full of baby clothes of varying sizes. Another had blankets. The last drawer contained children’s toys, cloth diapers, everything one would need. This is where he would rock them to sleep and read them bedtime stories, and check for scary monsters in the closet...

He pulled one of the toys out: A little terrycloth stuffed lamb. Would this be their favorite toy? Would they carry it around for years and hold doll courts and tea parties with it as their special guest?

He hugged it to his chest. Gods, when had he started crying?

Camilla saw this, and within a few moments she was hugging him. He tensed up in her arms, but he didn’t push her away.

“I’m sorry, was it too soon? I know you’re coming to terms with things… I hope I’m not overstepping my bounds.”

He shook his head. “I… I’m going to have a  _ baby _ .” And for the first time he wasn’t completely terrified by that fact. He was  _ excited _ even! He didn’t have to worry. This baby would be safe, and loved, and cared for no matter what. Shouldn’t that be all he needed to be happy himself? As long as his little one had parents that loved them and a warm place to sleep at night

Was Leo as excited as he was? Would Leo love it the same? Would he be there when their pup got sick? Would he read them war histories and teach them magic and attend their silly little tea parties? Would he be there to help chase the demons away at night?

They were happy tears. Stupid, hormonally charged, happy tears. He wiped them away with the heel of his palm and he set the toy down on the dresser.

“Come on, we still have an appointment to keep with the tailor.”

He nodded and trailed after her.

* * *

It was easy to stay occupied with the eldest Nohrian princess running his day.  After the tour he was shuffled around and constantly processing new information. Some of it translated well from home -- Sit up straight, don’t speak out of turn, keep your eyes down… But then there was a lot of new stuff too. Don’t go there, war rooms are for Alphas. Don’t let anyone catch you shooting your bow, Omegas don’t do that. And  _ why  _ the hell did they have so many damn spoons? How many implements did one need to eat a meal?

But when all was said and done, and Camilla went off to eat dinner and he was alone in his room he had a lot of time to think. And lacking anything else to do, he couldn’t help ruminating. He’d left so suddenly… He hadn’t even gotten to say goodbye to Sakura. It had been hard, the past few years. They rarely got to see each other, and she was the only one that could really understand what he was going through. They both had the same expectations set upon them by Ryoma; They both shared the same fate.

Would Ryoma even tell her what happened to him? Would he tell him that he was better off with Leo, or would he simply tell her that he’d turned traitor? Would she know that he’d done what he thought was right?

Maybe he could write to her? Ryoma didn’t say anything about letters, just that he couldn’t physically return to Hoshido…

He sat down at the desk and pulled out a blank piece of parchment and a quill. He wasn’t sure how the letter would get to her, or if he would even be allowed to send it… But he could at least try, right?

 

_ Sakura, _

_ I don’t know what Ryoma has told you, if he has told you anything at all. I know that I haven’t been in contact since before my short vacation to the beach, but I was afraid of what might happen if someone intercepted the letter. I don’t think that I would have been able to restrict myself to pleasantries with all that has happened. _

_ If Ryoma has informed you of anything, then you will know this. If not, I will tell you anyways. I am currently in Nohr, and it is by my own choice. As you may know, my trip to the tropical island was spent with Prince Leo of Nohr. On that trip I found myself falling in love with him. I knew it was stupid, but I couldn’t stop myself from indulging in that one brief moment of peace amidst the chaos. _

_ We continued seeing each other beyond that time, and I quickly found myself intolerant of our brother’s desire to marry me off for an alliance. I know that I have always been rash and emotional, and it seems that this time was no different. And yet, I decided that I would return home and follow Ryoma’s wishes. I decided that I needed to see Leo one last time for closure. _

_ That final goodbye resulted in my current predicament. I am carrying his child. Ryoma would not tolerate my presence in our family because of this, and so he gave me a choice: My child or my family. I chose my child. _

_ I do not want you to believe that this is because I do not love you. I love all of you more than you can imagine, even Ryoma. This has truly been an impossible choice for me. _

_ Above all else, I want you to know that you do not have to worry for me. I think I’ll be happy here. _

_ Goodbye. I love you, little sister. _

_ -Takumi _

 

He had to re-write it several times. His hand was shaking so badly that some of the characters were illegible and his tears blotted out the ink but eventually he managed to get a sufficient copy. He folded it up and stuffed it into an envelope, then he shoved the drafts into the drawer.

He rubbed anxiously at the corners of the envelope. It wasn’t even sealed. He considered, several times, just throwing it away and forgetting about the whole thing, but he couldn’t. Throwing it away… It felt like throwing Sakura away, too.

Camilla came in later with food for him.

“I’m sorry to leave you alone for so long.”

“Princess Camilla… Can you do something for me?”

“That depends, dear. What is it you need?”

“I need you to get a letter to my sister. Princess Sakura.”

He had no idea how she would do that… But if anyone was going to be able to help him it would be her.

“Oh… I don’t know if that would be the best idea…”

He clutched the envelope, frustrated tears forming in the corners of his eyes. He  _ needed  _ Sakura to know. He needed to say goodbye. The eldest Nohrian princess looked down at him with pity.

“Does it have anything suspicious in it?”

“... What, no?” He almost told her to read it herself, but she couldn’t. He’d written it in Hoshidan.

“... Alright.” She took the paper off of his hands. “But just this once, okay? Don’t tell Leo.”

“... Thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you!” He had to stop himself from wrapping his arms around her and sobbing.

“Poor dear… It’s the least I can do, really.”

She sat on the bed with him while he ate, and when he was done she stayed with him. He didn’t know it, but she stayed with him long into the night. Long past the time when the moon was at its apex, until a bleary-eyed and disheveled Leo collapsed onto the bed next to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little longer than usual (I think). It was a little difficult for me to write because it's mostly introductions and setup.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait. It's a longer chapter to compensate!
> 
> Potential Trigger Warning in the end notes

He woke up the next morning to a pillow being thrown in his face.

“I thought you were sleeping  _ on the floor?” _

What? Gods, what was with all of the  _ yelling?  _ It took him a moment to realize that he was in bed with the Hoshidan prince, and his Omega did  _ not  _ seem very happy to see him this time. He had his arms crossed, the neck of his comically over-sized night shirt falling off of his left shoulder. His hair was down and tangled, and he looked about three seconds away from punching him straight in the face.

_ That’s right. I did tell him that I would sleep on the floor, didn’t I? _

He’d just been so tired last night when he finally got done with his work that he’d just fallen into bed like he normally did. Honestly, he hadn’t even bothered changing out of his clothes. He was surprised he’d even remembered to take his damn boots off.

He groaned. “It’s too early for this…”

“Oh hell no! You kept me waiting  _ all damn day _ yesterday! What, are you too much of a coward to finish our conversation?”

Conversation?

_ Shit. _

He hadn’t exactly been avoiding Takumi, he’d simply just forgotten about the entire thing. Father just kept piling on tasks for him to do until he had a mountain of documents to go through. The influx of new work only ended once father went to bed, and by that point there was absolutely no way he would be getting it all done in one night.

“Alright, alright… But can I be fully conscious before you start hitting me with damn pillows?”

Seriously, how did Takumi even have the energy to be this upset in the morning?

He sat up and rubbed his bleary eyes with the heels of his palm until his vision came back into focus. He spent a minute, heavy head cradled in his hands until the world stopped tilting. Every fiber of his being begged him to just fall back into bed and ignore the pouting Omega beside him, but considering how upset Takumi already was he wasn’t keen on pushing his luck.

“Alright.” He raised his head after a moment. “What do you want to know?”

“What do I want to know? Leo… What the  _ hell  _ is going to happen to me? I think you owe it to me to at least tell me that!”

“I’ve told you, you’re now considered a royal concubine.” He supposed it wasn’t a  _ lie.  _ That would be his official title, even if his father only likened him to a slave.

“I know  _ that!  _ I mean, is that it for me? Are you going to get sick of me and kick me out?”

He didn’t understand what was so confusing about this. The title of royal concubine was something most Nohrian Omegas only  _ dreamed  _ of. It was actually a rather good deal for them: Pop out a pup or two and be taken care of for the rest of their lives. He supposed he couldn’t blame Takumi for not understanding the intricacies of Nohr’s social customs, but it was getting rather exhausting to explain.

“In Nohr as long as you produce at least one heir then the royal family  _ can’t  _ kick you out. Barring some horrible disgrace or the death of said heir. Don’t worry, Takumi. You’ll be taken care of for the rest of your life, okay? You don’t have to worry about surviving on the streets.”

“Well what a relief.” He rolled his eyes, sarcasm dripping from his tongue. “So what, I’m your property now?”

Takumi scoffed and rolled his eyes Yet again. Honestly, Leo had to agree… But being  _ his  _ property was far better than being anyone else’s property,  _ especially  _ his father’s property.

“In a sense.”

“Okay, fine. But what do concubines even do?”

“Officially? Nothing. You won’t personally wield any political power. Your main ‘duty’ is to look pretty and get pregnant.”

“Great, so it’s exactly what I would have been doing back in Hoshido. But now the damn servants won’t even speak to me?”

Ouch. That stung a little. He hadn’t really thought about it, but if Takumi was going to abandon his entire family then he probably  _ at least  _ expected not to be doing the exact same thing he would have been doing anyways. When he thought about it like that, coming with him to Nohr was vastly less attractive.

“... I’m sorry.”

“Don’t. I always knew I’d end up bred like cattle.”

He flinched at the turn of phrase, but the Omega wasn’t necessarily  _ wrong... _

“We don’t have to have any more children beyond this one if you don’t want to. I’m not going to force you to give me pups.”

Really he’d already done enough to this poor Omega thanks to his stupid, selfishness.

“Aren’t you going to be expected to have more than one pup? You know, to prove that you’re a ‘virile young alpha’ to the nobility?” He put the phrase in air quotes with his fingers.

He chuckled, though he was wondering if he should have. Takumi didn’t really seem to think it was all that funny. He tried to disguise the awkward gesture with a cough.

“The nobility is going to quibble no matter what. We can cross that bridge when we get there.”

Takumi fell silent for a few moments. Were they done here? Judging by the light filtering in through his window it was still early, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to get back to sleep now. He’d pulled himself out of bed and started getting changed when Takumi spoke up again.

“I uh… I wouldn’t mind, you know?”

“Wouldn’t mind what?” He asked absentmindedly as he stared at his cape, trying to figure out if it was right side out or not.

“Giving you more pups.”

He nearly dropped the piece of fabric in his hands. Takumi… Takumi  _ wanted  _ to give him more pups? No, not wanted…  _ Wouldn’t mind.  _ What did that even mean? He glanced over his shoulder quickly to gauge the Omega’s mood and oh gods… He was  _ blushing. _ He was blushing and biting his lip in that adorable way, and Leo hadn’t seen that endearing expression in  _ ages. _

“I mean… I’ve always wanted a big family so… Might as well make the most of it.”

Oh. Of course he should have known that it wasn’t because Takumi wanted a family with  _ him.  _ He just wanted something to  _ do.  _ Not to mention, extra children meant extra insurance. Takumi only needed  _ one  _ surviving heir to hold his status as a royal concubine.

“Right… That makes sense.” He added lamely.

There was a soft knock at the door, and Camilla stepped into the room without waiting for an answer,

“Leo? Oh dear, you’re still here? I just told father that you were on your way to the throne room to meet him.”

_ Shit. _ He threw his cape over his shoulders, not really caring now if it was inside-out and pulled his boots on as quickly as possible. Somehow, he managed to make it out of his room with only one sock inside out, but at least that would be hidden by his shoe. In his haste he’d completely forgotten to respond further to the confused Hoshidan lying in his bed.

At least Camilla would be with him for the rest of the day. That was one worry he could put out of his mind for now.

He walked as quickly as would be considered dignified, and as soon as he reached the throne room he dropped to one knee.

“My apologies, father.”

“At ease, my son. I understand.”

He stood up from his position on the floor and folded his arms behind his back. He didn’t say anything; Father wasn’t looking for a response. King Garon paused only for a moment before continuing.

“Every time I broke in a new whore I was always exhausted in the morning. How is his training going?”

He really hoped that his disgust wasn’t bleeding through into his facial expressions. He’d spent so many years cultivating the stoic mask, he couldn’t let it fall now. King Garon could never know just how much Takumi meant to him.

He smirked. “Excellent. He is still defiant, but I’m breaking him of that.”

The words tasted bitter on his tongue.

The king chuckled. “All high born bitches are like that. Would you like me to give you some tips?”

Again, he hoped the disgusted shiver that ran down his spine didn’t give him away. His father’s sunken eyes held a certain hunger whenever he talked about the Hoshidan prince, and Leo didn’t want to find out exactly what he would do if given an opportunity.

“I’m trying my own approach, but if he doesn’t come around I’ll gladly let you try your hand at him.”

His father grinned, blackened teeth on full display. He swore King Garon was one breath away from licking his lips in anticipation.

_ As if I’d ever give you Takumi. _

“See that you do. But as I’m sure you know, that’s not the only reason I called you here.”

“Of course not, father. I did not expect a whore to be your main focus of attention.”

There it was again. That gleam in is eye. The one that made him absolutely sick to his stomach.

“You proved quite competent in leading our forces against Hoshido...”

Was father sending him back to the front lines? Gods, he hoped not… If he was then Takumi…

Takumi would be alone. With his father.

He swallowed hard.

“Thank you, father.”

“... Unfortunately I need all of my children here at this time. I’m assigning you to help the war effort from here, too.”

Relief welled up in his body. Thank the gods…

However, that would also mean even more on top of his already massive workload. When he was home his tasks typically involved reviewing proposed legislation by the nobility, as father could not reasonably be expected to read all of it. When Xander was home they usually split this task, but because he was alone this meant reading through dozens of petty complaints per day, sorting out the relevant ones, and if need be researching ways to implement them before he presented the final candidates to father. This was in addition to his mandatory sword and magic training, and any social events that came up.

And now, of course, this would mean longer nights and less time with Takumi. He’d been hoping that he could at least spend the first few days with him to help him transition into life in Castle Krakenburg, but apparently the work had just been piling up in his absence. What the hell had his father’s retainers been doing these past few months? Now not only was he working through a massive backlog, he was  _ still  _ getting new work.

But he didn’t voice any of these concerns. He simply bowed.

“Thank you father, I am honored that you think so highly of me.”

“You’re dismissed.”

He left the room as quickly as he could… And did he see that right? Did he  _ actually  _ see father’s tongue flick over his lips as he left?

He would need to ensure that Camilla was with Takumi at all times, just in case.

He didn’t get to see Takumi -- or his room for that matter -- again that night. He woke up the next morning with a sore back and a few papers stuck to his face.

* * *

 

 

Time flew when life was all work and no sleep, it seemed. His life became an endless cycle of waking up at his desk, working through the day, and then finally collapsing either on his desk or, if he was lucky, in bed. Sometimes, even when he  _ did  _ get to lie down he couldn’t sleep for more than thirty minutes to an hour at a time.

The only thing that kept him going through those two weeks was the image of Takumi’s sleeping face. He looked so sweet, so peaceful when he was in bed. Like the world -- this horrible place couldn’t touch him.

This was what he was doing it for. He didn’t know how long he would have to endure the pressure from his father, the workload, the suffering… But he  _ would  _ endure it. He would endure it because this beautiful man was waiting for him on the other side.

The only things that broke that peace were the nightmares. And they were happening  _ a lot.  _ Sometimes Takumi only tossed and turned a little before settling down, sometimes he was two octaves away from screaming in the pitch black.

And Takumi, as he’d learned, was an incredibly heavy sleeper. He’d noticed it when they were on the beach, too. He couldn’t be jostled or shaken awake, even during his worst nightmares.

Tonight was one of the worst he’d seen yet.

The Hoshidan started by whimpering, which was almost more terrifying than when he screamed. When he screamed, he was fighting. When he whimpered, he was helpless. His face contorted in the dark, and all at once he started kicking and thrashing, mouth open wide in a silent scream. It was as if he were fighting off some invisible demon, but no matter how hard he fought it just seemed to be getting worse and worse.

“Shh… It’s alright, my love.” He shifted closer, wrapped his arms around his waist. He pressed his palm against the back of Takumi’s head and pushed his face into his chest gently. “It’s alright.”

This tactic had worked before. Once at the beach, and a few times during these long nights together. He endured a few kicks to the shin for his trouble before Takumi finally relaxed a little in his arms.

He  _ hated  _ seeing Takumi like this. He  _ hated _ knowing that he was the reason for this. If he’d never brougth him to Nohr then he would probably be happily asleep in his bed at home, surrounded by family and people who  _ loved  _ him. People who he loved back.

_ I can’t believe I ever loved you. _

He’d been trying not to think about it since those words left the Hoshidan’s lips, but it was impossible not to think of it now. It was a constant reminder that he could not be counted among those precious few people that Takumi loved. He so desperately wanted to be, but he’d been too rash, too ruthless, too  _ selfish.  _ And now he didn’t deserve it, no matter how much he wanted it.

“Leo…” He sighed. The Alpha paused. Had he woken up? Did he know what was happening? He looked closer, but Takumi’s chest was still rising and falling in that rhythmic pattern, and his eyes were still firmly shut.

Maybe he’d just been imagining it.

He backed off for a minute anyways, just in case Takumi really  _ had  _ woken up. Leo didn’t imagine that he would be very pleased to wake up in his arms. The Omega rolled over, but after several minutes it was obvious that he hadn’t woken up at all. Leo wrapped his arms around his waist once again.

_ Just to keep the nightmares at bay. _ He told himself. But he was lying. He was always lying to himself. Truthfully, he liked to bury his nose in the Omega’s hair because the silver locks smelled like the ocean breeze, and for just a moment he could pretend that things were simple again.

Absentmindedly, he ran his hand over the Hoshidan prince’s stomach. Was it just him, or did he feel the slightest bump? It would be early, but not unheard of...

“Soon…” He whispered against the top of Takumi’s head. “Hopefully soon your mama and I can get everything sorted, and we can just be a family.”

He didn’t know how good of a father he would be. He had a long  _ long  _ list of things not to do, and he could count the number of good examples he’d been given on a single hand… But he had to start somewhere, right?

* * *

 

 

Iago wanted to meet with him bright and early the next morning. As usual he waited for Camilla to come stay with Takumi, and then he got dressed and headed to the war room.

Messengers had arrived with word from the front line for the first time in almost two weeks.

It wasn’t good news.

Ideally after such a devastating loss the Nohrian armies would have pushed the Hoshidan defenders back far enough that they would gain a solid foothold in their territory. However, the Hoshidan army had been able to fall back to a highly defensive position. They were building up their strength again, and it was looking like there would be another long stalemate in their future.

Father was not happy with the situation. In the years since their war began he was sure they would have made more ground by now. Possibly even conquered all of Hoshido. But instead they were settling for barely being inside their borders. It was steadily becoming a war of attrition, and Nohr was absolutely  _ not  _ at an advantage when it came to those.

Leo found himself in a familiar place now, standing over a large war table with figures and facts. The only difference being that he was blind to the exact situation, compensating for a lack of information, and his father’s  _ most loyal retainer  _ was breathing down his neck. He wasn’t even contributing, he simply stood off to the side and vainly fussed over his greasy black hair.

Iago was a difficult man to like, and for good reason. He was, to put it bluntly, vile. Absolutely  _ vile.  _ The man had his nose into everything, and wherever he went misery was sure to follow.

“I saw your new bitch walking around with your sister. He is… Quite something.”

He had to suppress a growl in his throat. He’d been very careful to keep Takumi away from any area of the castle that his father or his retainers might inhabit, which meant that Iago had intentionally gone looking for his Omega.

Now the man was feeling him out. He was testing him and disguising it as typical Alpha banter.

“Are you having a hard time breaking him? I’m sure as a prince he’s a bit of a prude. I could help you with that, if you like.”

The thought of it sickened him.  _ His  _ Omega, in that slimy bastard’s bed writhing and begging like he’d begged him so many times…

No, he had to banish the thought. Iago didn’t mean any of this.  _ He was testing him. _ The man  was disgusting, but he wasn’t stupid. He was trying to provoke a reaction, to see just how much Takumi meant to him. And any information he obtained in this ridiculous reconnaissance mission would definitely be relayed to father.

“I’m perfectly capable of breaking my own slaves in, thank you.”

“Too bad. I’d love to put him in his proper place.”

He wanted to punch him. He wanted to punch him  _ so badly  _ that his fist almost clenched, but he was being watched. Even the slightest slip up could mean a world of trouble. Leo took solace in the knowledge that, once his father died, they would be able to execute the useless, evil bastard. He would do it himself. He would throw  _ parties  _ afterwards. Hell, it would become a  _ national holiday. _

“He does look amazing on his knees. You know how I am though, I never did like sharing my toys.”

Iago laughed. It was incredible how sliminess rubbed off because he felt positively disgusting.

Leo went back to staring at the map. They could send a few troops over the mountains to catch the Hoshidans off guard, but that could take months. Would they be able to make the trip before Hoshido rebuilt their forces? If not, their army could be split up and caught off guard… And even if the Hoshidans didn’t build up their forces in time, they could still get an entire contingent of soldiers lost in the wilderness.

“What if we put Xander…” He picked up the piece, but Iago stopped his hand.

“Oh, haven’t you been notified?” He frowned. Iago loved doing this to him… Catching him off guard. “Prince Xander is returning home.”

Right. Father had said something about needing  _ all  _ of his children home. He’d been so focused on not letting his revulsion show that he hadn’t been properly analyzing.

“Of course. Merely slipped my mind. Who is father sending instead?”

“Hans is going to take over from here.”

Sending Hans was... Troubling. He could guarantee the body count would double on both sides, and that was the best case scenario. Even Xander couldn’t find a redeeming quality in that man.

At least Hans’s absence would remove one potential danger from the castle. And if Hans was going, that meant that Iago or Zola would probably be leaving as well. Two birds with one stone, he wasn’t exactly complaining.

“I see. Well, no need for us to continue then, yes? Reconvene after lunch?” He straightened up and left before Iago could object. It was only midday, maybe he could spend some time with Takumi before his father found something else for him to do.

He approached the royal wing apprehensively. Spending time with Takumi  _ sounded  _ like a good idea, but they had barely spoken in two weeks.

Everything he’d learned about Takumi’s adjustment to Nohr was told to him second hand through Camilla. The prince pretended to hate ballroom dancing, but he really excelled at it. He was still having a lot of trouble learning even basic Nohrian phrases, but he was sneaking books to practice the alphabet. He was crying a lot -- particularly when it came to their pup -- and he’d begged Camilla not to tell him.

He didn’t see Camilla anywhere, which he supposed wasn’t too bad at this time of day. Father was still holding court, and he’d been occupying Iago in the war room so Takumi would be safe getting a moment of peace to himself. That, or Camilla had dragged him off to some other part of the castle to practice whatever she’d been teaching him lately.

He didn’t have to worry about the Omega being lost at least; He was sitting cross legged on the floor of his room, and a little blonde haired boy was sitting right in front of him. Takumi had a little princess figurine in his hand, and the boy had his favorite dragon plush toy.

As soon as he pushed the door open Siegbert dropped the toys they were playing with and ran to meet him. He wrapped his pudgy little arms around one of his legs.

“Uncle Leo!”

He ruffled his curly blonde hair affectionately.

“Siegbert! Where’s Elise? I thought she was supposed to be watching you today?”

He shook his head. “Auntie Elise had to do something. She left me with Ta… Uhm… Tahkoomee?”

The little boy looked back at the Omega proudly. “Did I say it right.”

“You were close, bud.”

He ran back over and sat down on the carpet once more.

“Sorry, am I allowed to watch him? Elise said something about leaving him for a few minutes but it’s been hours… But we’re getting along pretty well, aren’t we bud?”

The little blonde boy nodded happily. He handed Takumi his little knight toy, complete with plastic toothpick sword and little horse, and he took the princess one.

“You don’t want to be the knight?”

“Nuh uh. Princess is more fun.”

“Oh yeah? Why’s that?”

“Cuz she gets to do all the cool stuff! Like hang out with dragons!”

“You got me there, kiddo.”

He didn’t want to intrude on the moment. His Omega looked the happiest he’d seen him since they’d arrived in Windmire; He was practically  _ beaming  _ at the little boy before him. Takumi even did voices and sound effects as they played.

It seemed like his instincts were right: Takumi was going to be a great parent. He slid into the role so easily with Siegbert, it was like they’d known each other for years. The thought made him positively giddy. Soon that would be  _ their  _ pup he was playing with. Maybe he was getting too anxious over this. They still had a little over six months left to go until they got to meet their child, but the anticipation was  _ killing  _ him.

He wanted to tell him.  _ Gods,  _ he so desperately wanted to tell Takumi not to worry. That everything was going to be okay. That he was irreplaceable. That he still loved him. But he couldn’t. He didn’t want to scare him, or worse, put him in danger. He’d flown higher than he ever could have hoped for, and he didn’t want to fall. Not ever, but especially not yet. Not while he could still watch little moments like this one.

He never would have guessed from his prickly nature, but Takumi had such a soft spot for kids. It would be obvious to anyone witnessing what he was seeing right now. And he was  _ good  _ with them, he had to wonder when he’d had time to develop that skill on the battlefield. Or maybe it was inherent? Were all Omegas naturally talented like that? Though… Judging from his own mother he doubted it. Maybe some people were just born with that affinity, Omega or not. He certainly didn’t think he had it. He loved his nephew to death, but he rarely had time for him and he often didn’t know how to react to his childish mannerisms. He hadn’t even seen Siegbert in over a year, last time he was home. He was surprised the boy even recognized him.

He watched to the conclusion of their epic little saga, which involved Siegbert’s princess commanding her new dragon friend, a stuffed doll that he carried everywhere with him, to attack the gallant knight attempting a rescue. It ended with the princess and the dragon living happily ever after with their piles of gold. The little boy yawned and picked up a few of the figurines, apparently trying to figure out which game they should play next.

“Alright Siegbert, isn’t it time for your nap?”

“Aw, c’mon Uncle Leo! I’m not tired!”

“That’s what you said last time and you were practically falling asleep at the dinner table. Come on, I’ll read you a story.”

The little boy picked up his dragon toy and clutched it to his chest, and Leo took him by the hand and guided him back to his bedroom. He remembered having a similar doll when he was a child, though he had to admit that it hadn’t lasted very long once he’d hit Siegbert’s age.

Leo pulled the covers of his bed back for him and tucked him in before lying down beside him with a children’s story book. Siegbert wiggled under his arm to get a better look at the pictures, thumb in his mouth as Leo read to him. Despite his protests of not being tired, he was barely through the first few pages of the story before his nephew started snoring.

_ Gods  _ he was tired. Heck, he’d barely made it through those few pages with his eyes open. Surely taking a little nap wouldn’t hurt anyone, right? It was a pretty big bed, and if he got up then he would be disturbing Siegbert’s nap time… And the kid always got cranky when his nap time was interrupted.

He slumped over just a bit, not enough to jostle the cheek lying on his chest and closed his eyes. Just for a minute.

* * *

 

 

He was a light sleeper. He had to be. Growing up amidst several dozen people, all of whom wanted him dead had done that to him.

So, when something warm touched his forehead his arm shot out and grabbed whatever the offending object was. His eyes shot open and he scanned the room wildly for threats.

Though, instead of being met with a knife he was just met with the wide, amber eyes of his Hoshidan prince. He immediately dropped his death grip on his wrist and let his hand slide back down to his side.

“I was just checking your temperature. You looked like you might be getting sick.”

“I… Thank you for your concern, but don’t worry about me. I’m perfectly fine.”

Takumi snorted. “Yeah right. Like anyone would be fine after two straight weeks of falling asleep at their desk.”

“Oh? And how did you know about that?”

The Omega rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “The uh… The bed never smells like you when I wake up.”

The observation made his heart flutter. Takumi  _ noticed  _ it when he was missing.

“I assure you, I’ve been doing this for pretty much my entire life. It’s nothing to be concerned over.” He gently extricated himself from the sleeping child still on his chest.

“If you say so… Camilla brought some food by for you.” He nodded at the tray sitting atop the vanity in the corner.

“Have you already eaten?”

Takumi nodded in response, so Leo picked up the tray and headed back to his room so as to not disturb Siegbert. Takumi had apparently already collected up all of his little toys and put them away because the room was spotless.

“I’m sorry Elise dumped him on you, she doesn’t usually do that.”

“It’s fine. He’s a sweet kid.”

“You were good with him.”

“You think so? Sometimes I had to look after Shiro when I was home. He’s a little older than Siegbert.”

“Of course, you’re a natural.”

“Yeah. I guess.”

For once Takumi didn’t seem too keen on obtaining praise. Leo didn’t have to wonder what was wrong for long, though.

“Look… Have you been avoiding me or something? You haven’t been around at all for the last two weeks. Was it something I said?”

“No! It’s not that at all!”

He shook his head. “Look, I’ve made my peace with my situation. I just… I don’t know. I don’t see how we’re going to raise a baby together if you’re never around.”

“... It’s going to be hard, I’m not going to lie. I have a lot of responsibilities, and those take up a lot of time. But I want to be here.”

He didn’t seem very reassured. Takumi folded his arms over his stomach nervously.

“What you’re doing… It’s not healthy. At this rate you’ll be dead by the time you’re twenty.”

“I didn’t realize you cared so much for my well being.”

“I just don’t think you should be overworking yourself like this. We’re going to have a child to look after, and I can’t raise them alone in this environment. I don’t know  _ anything  _ about Nohr.”

“I promise, this won’t last forever..”

Takumi sighed. “I guess I’ll just have to trust you, huh? You’re asking me to put a lot of faith in you, don’t abuse it.”

* * *

 

 

His next break wasn’t until dinner time. Really, on most days he would consider that his  _ only  _ break, as father expected everyone to eat together. Otherwise he usually took breakfast and lunch in his office while he worked.

Just like every other night, a servant kicked on the door of his office and informed him that dinner would be served soon. He immediately stood up, tidied himself up, and headed to the dining room.

Everyone else -- barring father, of course -- had already arrived. The seat at the head of the table was empty as was the chair across from Camilla. That was Xander’s seat, and father was very specific about seats. Camilla sat across from Xander’s usual spot, at father’s left hand. Elise sat beside her, and Leo sat across from Elise. Siegbert, when he was permitted to sit with the family, usually sat at Leo’s other side. However, tonight it seemed the boy would be staying in his room.

That was just as well, since he didn’t want his nephew accidentally revealing that he’d spent the entire day being looked after Takumi. Siegbert seemed to take quite a liking to Takumi, and in the excitement of making a new friend he might reveal something he shouldn’t. He was sure that Elise and Camilla had already gone over it with him, but still it was better safe than sorry.

He took his place at the table and neatly folded his napkin over his lap.

“Ah! He lives!” Elise giggled.

“Don’t be ridiculous. You saw me yesterday, Elise.”

“Well  _ yeah, _ but if it weren’t for dinner I’d think you’d been murdered by paperwork or something!”

“How would you even get murdered by paperwork?”

She shrugged in response.

“Aw, come on little brother. She’s just worried about your health.” Camilla mock-pouted at him

“My health is fine, thank you.”

“Well, at least you did take  _ some  _ break today. Takumi was  _ very _ happy that you visited him, you know~” She teased.

“He was?” Judging by the look in his elder sister’s eyes, he’d sounded a bit to eager. He paused to moderate his tone before continuing. “Did he tell you that?”

Camilla laughed, mischievous glint in her eye. “Oh dear, he didn’t have to tell me. He couldn’t stop smiling for the rest of the day.”

“... He was probably just happy to play with Siegbert. Speaking of…” He turned back to his youngest sister. “Why did you leave him alone with a stranger?”

“Hey! I didn’t just  _ leave  _ him! Geez, I’m not  _ that  _ irresponsible. Camilla was there too when I left! Besides, it’s not like Takumi is a stranger anymore!”

She leaned in closely, pigtails brushing against the surface of the table. “Father had another bout of coughing, and he didn’t want the other healers to see.”

Ah… That made sense, then. Father didn’t usually call on Elise for anything else.

He opened his mouth to respond, but he was interrupted by the sound of trudging footsteps coming down the hall toward the dining room. The three siblings exchanged a look, and all of them sat up a little straighter before father entered the room. The king nodded curtly at them before taking his seat, and they all bowed their heads in return.

The second King Garon sat down the servants began bringing the food out. It appeared to be some sort of cabbage soup.

_ At least this might be easier on Takumi’s stomach. _

They’d been eating a pretty meat-heavy diet for the past few nights, and he’d been woken up on more than one occasion to Takumi making a mad dash for the bathroom.

Dinner was always such an awkward affair. Father had a very strict  _ do not speak unless spoken to  _ rule. That meant that some nights -- most nights, really -- were spent in complete and utter silence. Why father insisted that they eat dinner together  _ as a family  _ if they weren’t going to talk was beyond him, but no one was to question father.

Tonight, however, was one of those rare nights in which King Garon spoke. Like most things, it started with little preamble, and it was not meant for starting conversation: He was merely stating a fact.

“Some of the Nestran nobility will be arriving within the next few days. I expect that you will all be on your best behavior.”

“Yes, father.” They all replied in unison. Really, it was like he was speaking to a bunch of unruly children. No matter how old he got, he would never stop feeling small under his father’s gaze.

“Especially you, Elise. I’ve heard that several young,  _ single  _ Alphas will be among them.”

She pursed her lips, just one slight expression shift away from a full blown pout.

“Of course, father.” She wasn’t exactly keen on the idea of taking a mate. His little sister was only fifteen, and Omegas didn’t traditionally start looking for mates until around fourteen  _ at least.  _ Even then, the process of courtship could take years, and most Omegas weren’t mated until they were sixteen or seventeen on the low end.

Though it seemed their father wasn’t done with is admonishment. “It’s about time you got yourself a mate. At this rate you’ll be a burden on your siblings forever.”

She bowed her head, violet eyes shining with tears. “I’m sorry, father.”

He grit his teeth, but he kept his mouth shut. They all did. He hated it. He felt like a coward. But there was only so much leeway father was willing to give, and he’d used all of his to protect Takumi. He would just have to make it up to her another time, maybe with a big fruit tart and a new dress. He was already wracking his brains to remember her favorite pastry shop.

Once he’d finished his rant on Elise’s general uselessness -- Ironic since he depended on her to keep the secret of his ill health -- he turned to Leo.

“How much work do you have left?”

He sighed, internally thinking of the stack of papers as thick as his wrist waiting for him on his desk.

“Nothing I can’t get done tonight.”

The king smiled. “Good. Ensure that you get back to it right after dinner.”

“Of course, father.”

He finished eating as quickly as possible, eager to get back to it and  _ maybe  _ get enough done to justify sleeping in his bed tonight. Father finished eating before the rest of them and excused himself. Shortly after Camilla headed toward the kitchens to get Takumi his dinner, and he headed back toward his office.

He was about half way back to his office when he remembered that he’d brought a few books back to his room last night and he had yet to take them back. Camilla was so accommodating, always watching over Takumi late into the night so he’d been trying to take some of his work back to his room with him so she could go to bed. He’d been meaning to grab them all day, but it had slipped his mind. Now was as good a time as any. Heck, maybe he could sit with Takumi for a few minutes before he had to head back to work.

Just as he was about to round the corner he heard yelling, and what sounded like a struggle. He sprinted the last few feet just in time to see Takumi’s wrist in the vice grip of his father, being dragged down the hall toward his father’s bedroom.

“Hey! Stop, let go of me!” The Omega dug his heels in and tried fighting back, but were it not for his father’s frail health he had no doubt that Takumi would have easily been carried off by now.

“I see my son hasn’t been attentive enough to you. You’re still too defiant.” He hissed in Nohrian as Takumi clawed helplessly at his gauntlet.

Takumi looked around wildly, like a cornered animal and they locked eyes. Leo tried to tamp down the rage building in the pit of his stomach. He and Camilla stop watching his Omega for  _ five minutes  _ and his father was already trying to drag him off and have his way with him?

“Is my bitch giving you trouble father?”

King Garon whipped around to look at him. He didn’t even try to hide the annoyed expression on his weathered face. Clearly his  _ suggestion  _ that Leo get straight back to work was more than what it had seemed.

“He’s been here for weeks and he’s still so feisty. This one might be a bit much for your first time.”

Implicitly, his tone communicated his  _ real  _ thoughts. Namely  _ what are you doing here? I told you to get lost. _

Had he been just a minute slower then gods only knew what could have happened to Takumi. Once he was dragged into his father’s room, there wasn’t very much that any of them could do about it.

“Please Father, I’ve never had the pleasure of breaking one in myself.”

He did his best to grovel. To make it sound like he was  _ begging.  _ In a sense he was.

“Oh, alright. I suppose it is a right of passage.”

He had to keep himself from audibly sighing in relief. He grabbed Takumi roughly by the wrist and shoved him into his room, slamming the door behind him.

“Ouch! Leo!”

He held up his hand. Takumi glared silently at him and sat down on the bed, arms crossed over his chest. Leo pressed his ear to the door and waited for his father’s footsteps to fade away. He counted out a minute after he heard the last metal boot click against stone before he spoke again.

“I’m sorry.”

Takumi stared at him for a long, hard moment. For the first time Leo felt like Takumi was truly assessing him, watching him, trying to figure him out. He was sure that the Omega had done it before, but never so openly. Leo shifted uncomfortably under his discerning amber gaze. He hadn't understood any of the previous conversation, but Takumi was by no means stupid. He'd probably at least partially figured it out.

“I’m… I’m not  _ really  _ considered a concubine, am I?”

“... No. You aren’t.”

Leo could see now that he was visibly shaking. Gods, he’d been such an idiot.  _ Of course  _ he wasn’t going to be able to keep this kind of information from Takumi forever. There was never going to be a  _ good  _ time to tell Takumi about it, but he certainly couldn’t think of a  _ worse  _ time for Takumi to find out.

“What… What happened? What did he say?”

He shook his head. “I don’t know. He came in here and started saying something in Nohrian and trying to drag me out and I… I didn’t know what to do. I just… Froze.”

Takumi looked so small, sitting there on the bed. Eyes fixed down at the ground as he rubbed at the skin on his upper thigh, like he was trying to erase his touch.

He’d never hated his father more.

“I thought you were finally being honest with me!” Takumi snarled after a moment. “Don’t you think ‘ _ my father believes you’re a sex slave so he might try to drag you off and fuck you’  _ would have been relevant information for me to know?!”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“I  _ told  _ you that I didn’t want to be kept in the dark! You  _ knew  _ that!”

Of course he was  _ supposed  _ to tell Takumi… But how was he going to do that? If Takumi didn’t already think him a brute for impregnating, kidnapping, and then forcing him to live as a concubine then he certainly would after he found out -- surprise! -- that he’s just a sex slave!

“I… My father is a monster. I didn’t want you to think the same of me.”

It was true. Kings kept concubines, but only barbarians kept slaves.

“Leo… You’re a lot of things, but I’ve never thought you a monster.”

He wasn’t so sure. It felt like everything in their relationship was two steps forward, three steps back. Every time the thought they were making progress the words ‘ _ I can’t believe I ever loved you’  _ haunted his every thought, his every action. Any time Takumi gave him a glimmer of hope that sentence ran back through his head. He couldn’t even blame Takumi. He was a horrible Alpha if he couldn’t even protect him from getting molested by his  _ father. _

He sat down on the bed beside him. He was running out of things to lose, but if it was between Takumi and his pride then he’d gladly give up the latter.

“You want to know the truth?”

“Yes.” He answered immediately.

“Nohr is… Complicated. Our people hate Hoshido. They think you’re all spoiled to the core, and you need to be put in your place. You especially, being a prince  _ and  _ an Omega. They want to see you dead, and if they can’t see you dead then they want to see you beaten bloody and on your knees to serve your masters. They want you to suffer.”

“So then why the  _ hell  _ did you bring me here?”

“I…” He paused. Did he really want to say..? He’d promised to be honest, and it wasn’t as if Takumi’s opinion of him could go any lower... But, well, he’d been burying the feeling for so long. He’d been locking it down so deep that he wasn’t sure he’d be able to put words to it.

The Omega crossed his arms over his chest and cocked his head to the side expectantly.

“... Because I love you.”

Takumi stopped, mouth half open. “You dragged me into this mess for  _ love?” _

“I know.”

“You dragged me to a country full of people that want to see me suffer… Because you  _ love  _ me?”

Okay, he knew it was stupid. How was it that Takumi always managed to make him feel like a complete moron?

“What exactly were you expecting to happen? Were you going to tell me all of this eventually and just  _ hope  _ I was okay with being a slave?”

“Look, my father is very ill, and when he dies Xander will take the crown. Things will change, and we could be open… Maybe even  _ mates,  _ if you wanted.”

“But you don’t  _ know  _ that!” He didn’t immediately cringe at the concept of being mates, which Leo was choosing to take as a good sign.

“I’ll admit, it’s a leap of faith. But Takumi... Most of our problems are caused by this war. If your brother were to make peace with us then things could change. Our people would stop starving. We would stop sending scores of young Alphas to the slaughter. It would take time, but I  _ know  _ that things would get better.”

“Gods, you’re going to get all of us killed. You, me,  _ and  _ our pup.”

“Not a chance. I will  _ always  _ keep you safe. Even if you hate me.”

He’d told Takumi that he thought he would always love him. It wasn’t a lie. Even if Takumi never spoke to him again after this, he knew he would never stop. His heart was wholly and completely in this beautiful prince’s hands, and as long as Takumi was safe then it was all he could ask for. He didn’t deserve more.

“I… I don’t know, okay?”

He nodded. He knew he shouldn’t have gotten his hopes up that Takumi would reciprocate.

“I understand.”

“Please can you just… Can you just leave me alone for a little while?”

“I… Of course. I’m sorry.” He reluctantly left the Omega sitting on the bed. His head was bowed and his bangs were covering his eyes, but based on the shaking in his shoulders he was probably crying. He wanted to comfort him, but he didn’t. Takumi probably hated his guts right now, so Leo stepped outside of the room and waited for Camilla to return with his dinner. She would just have to keep an eye on him in his stead.

He explained as much as he could to her as soon as she got back. She just grimly nodded in understanding and pushed her way past him into the room. Now confident that the Hoshidan prince would be looked after, he made his way back to his office and prepared for another long night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: Implied/attempted sexual assault
> 
>  
> 
> Not going to lie, this chapter was really hard for me to write. I'm still not super happy with it, but I've decided to put it out anyways so the story can move forward. Tentatively going to say that this story is going to have 23 chapters total, but that is subject to change.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi I'm not dead.

He had no idea. He never could have anticipated what he would experience in Nohr. He’d thought, oh so long ago -- because two weeks really was forever here -- that maybe he could be happy. Things were always difficult at first. There was always an adjustment period. It wasn’t so different from when he’d first joined Ryoma’s unit on the front lines, right? No one spoke to him then, either.

Oh how wrong he was.

An Omega on the battlefield was odd, but he was still a prince. The soldiers were still required to show him a modicum of respect, even if it was dishonest. And if they didn’t then Ryoma was there to put them in their place. No one dared defy his brother twice, especially when it came to his family.

But here… No one stood up for him, and he wouldn’t even know how to stand up for himself, if he thought he could get away with it. Nohr was a completely different world from Hoshido.

There were worse things than being completely ignored, but he couldn’t think of many. Even the servants refused to look at him. Camilla had to bring him breakfast because he was too nervous to ask. He was too terrified of saying the wrong thing, or messing up and making them hate him even more. Even Camilla probably hated him too, now. She was a princess, and he was treating her like a servant. He’d brought it up once, but she hadn’t offered much in return.

_ “Don’t feel bad. I love taking care of my family like this.” _

She was just saying that. And even if she wasn’t, it was that same concern that put him in this situation in the first place. Maybe if he’d had a bit more courage she wouldn’t have needed to leave him alone to grab his dinner. And King Garon...

_ Stupid… _

He wished he could have put an arrow straight through the Nohrian King’s eye, but they hadn’t given him a weapon since he’d been captured. They hadn’t even given him Fujin Yumi back when they’d returned him to his brother. Camilla assured him that it was safe, but it still made him anxious to be without it. Or without  _ any  _ weapon really.

Now he knew that uneasiness was for good reason. He’d been dealing with Alphas like that since he’d presented. He was long over it. But if the Nohrian  _ King  _ behaved like that, then he was surprised nothing else had happened to him. If Leo hadn’t come when he did...

_ Leo... _

He didn’t know why he was crying. In truth, this was the lightest his heart had felt in a  _ long  _ time. Maybe it was because he was relieved. He’d broken Leo’s heart… And still…  _ Still  _ Leo loved him.  His hollow heart felt like it was being restarted again. Maybe he didn’t deserve Leo’s love, but he  _ wanted  _ it. He  _ craved  _ it.

Two weeks. Two weeks of uncertainty. He was starting to wonder if it was worth it. If he’d made the right decision. He’d even wondered if he should cut his losses and go home to Ryoma...

But  _ Leo loved him. _ It was, at least for the moment, the only immutable truth he needed in his life. Call him a hopeless romantic, but it made him feel like everything would be okay.  _ They would be okay. _

But he couldn’t think with Leo around. He’d put up so many walls around his heart, so many barriers since he’d left the Nohrian Prince dumbstruck in that forest clearing and resigned himself to his fate.

He would love for it to be as simple as loving and being loved back, but it wasn’t. Leo had said it himself: There were no guarantees. They  _ might _ be able to mate. They  _ might  _ be able to live openly. And gods only knew how long it would take for them to get there. It could take  _ decades. _

And honestly? A lot could happen in a few decades. Leo could meet someone that he loved more. King Garon could force him to mate for political gain or alliance. And then what? He would always be stuck in the background, shoved back into the shadows like a dirty little secret.

He would be second best.

Just like everything else in his life.

And in the meantime he would be living in constant fear of losing one of the things he’d been desperately clinging to from the start…

Wallowing in self pity wasn’t going to help him, though. He wiped his eyes dry with the heel of his hand. And besides… He knew Camilla would be coming back soon, and he didn’t want her to see him like this. He was right, it didn’t take long for her to return. She dropped the tray of food on the dresser and immediately pulled him into her arms.

“I’m so sorry dear, Leo told me what happened. This is all my fault, I never should have left you alone!”

“I-I’m fine, Camilla. It’s not like you could have known.”

His eyes were still puffy and red, but he’d mostly been able to stem the flow of tears. He picked at the food she’d brought, but really he’d lost his appetite after this whole ordeal. His stomach was twisted into so many knots that even  _ doing it for the baby  _ wasn’t enough motivation for him to choke it down. And, for the first time, Camilla didn’t urge him to eat either.

“Would you like to stay in my room? Or perhaps Elise’s while you get yourself sorted out?”

“I don’t want to impose…”

“Oh hush, it’s not any bother at all.”

He didn’t want to say yes, but he desperately also did not want to say no. He didn’t know if he could face Leo again so soon, and this was still  _ Leo’s  _ room. The Alpha had every right to come back to it if he pleased.

The Nohrian princess was getting too good at reading his moods, because she pulled him to his feet and walked him across the hall to Elise’s room without another word. He hovered awkwardly just inside her door -- which Camilla barged through with barely a knock.

He’d never been in her room before. Unless Camilla dragged him about he spent the majority of his time curled up in bed, even when the morning sickness and lightheadedness were at bearable levels.

Elise’s room was quite the breath of fresh air. It was cozy in a way that the rest of the castle wasn’t allowed to be. It still had the same utilitarian furniture, but with several modifications. Panels of sheer pink cloth hung from the four poster bed like curtains, there were colorful pillows strewn about the floor, and several dolls and various stuffed toys occupied every available surface. The vanity was cluttered with various combs, brushes, makeup, perfumes, and accessories. It was cluttered, but not unclean. He had no idea how she was allowed to get away with it, considering the strictness with which every other room he’d been in was kept.

It felt like an invasion of privacy to be in her room like this. And to not only be in it, but be asking to  _ sleep here? _ They’d spent time together, but he hadn’t been in Nohr long enough to consider them close by any stretch of the imagination. He liked her well enough, though her energy and personality were a lot ot adjust to. The young Omega was constantly running around and hugging and  _ talking.  _ She was practically the complete opposite of Sakura.

He realized with a pang that he hadn’t gotten any response from her. Camilla had only guaranteed that she would  _ get  _ the letter, and he had no way of knowing if she even had the channels to send one in return. Even so, the possibility that she had gotten the letter, but chosen to ignore it, still weighed heavily on his mind.

_ Enough of that. You already have enough to deal with. _

He turned his attention back to the two princesses in front of him. Elise was sitting cross legged on her bed, brushing out her thick blonde hair.

“Elise dear, would it be alright if Takumi spent a few nights in here?”

“Wow, really? Of course he can!” She hopped off of the bed and started jumping up and down, clapping her hands together enthusiastically. “Oh my gosh this’ll be so fun! It’ll be like a big sleepover! We can do each other’s hair and everything!”

“Great! I’ll go get his things!”

Camilla stepped out of the room, leaving a void between himself and the youngest princess. Elise grabbed him by the hand and tugged him along until he was sitting down on her bed.

He didn’t know if Elise was simply unable to read his mood, or if she was intentionally ignoring it to try and make him feel better. Or maybe she was just disregarding it all together to keep things from getting awkward.

“So what do you want to do first? We can get some snacks or braid hair or, oh, have you tried makeup? I bet you would look really good--”

“Actually…” He cut her off before she could spiral into the ball of pure energy she was. “I’m really tired, Elise. Can I just sleep?”

“Oh…” She deflated a little, but that same smile was back on her face in an instant. He almost felt bad for disappointing her; he could see why all of the Nohrians loved coddling her. “Of course! You and the baby need lots of rest after all!”

He appreciated how she didn’t point out that it wasn’t even late, or that he’d spend the entire day in bed anyways. Camilla dropped his clothes off and he got changed quickly in the bathroom.

“So uh… Where do I sleep..?”

“The bed? C’mon, it’s a  _ sleepover!” _

“I…” He didn’t really know Elise that well but… Well they were both Omegas and it was a big bed, so he supposed it wasn’t  _ too  _ weird. He’d shared beds with Sakura before, and though he and Elise weren’t family they also weren’t that far off. He  _ was  _ carrying her niece or nephew.

Besides, sleeping on the floor sounded even less appealing than sleeping in Leo’s bed, so he climbed in and pulled the covers over his head.

* * *

 

_ He opened his eyes. _

_ Darkness. _

_ Nothing but darkness. _

_ He reached out with both hands, and was met with walls on either side before his arms could be fully extended. His breath hitched in his throat and he tried the other direction -- It was the same. The room couldn’t have been more than nine square feet, and he couldn’t see his hand directly in front of his face. _

_ He ran his fingers along the smooth wood, searching for anything that would aid him in his escape. A door handle… Or even a light. There was a doorframe, but even after scanning every inch with his fingertips he couldn’t find a handle. It was completely flat, unyielding. _

_ “H-Help!” He screamed, fists pounding against the walls until his hands were sore and his knuckles bloody. He couldn’t breathe,  _ gods  _ why couldn’t he breathe? Was the air getting thinner, or were his lungs giving out? _

_ He slid to the floor, realization setting in. _

_ He was going to die here. _

_ He didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry. Of all the ways he could have died, this had to be the most pathetic. _

_ No. No, he couldn’t die like this. The gods could have him any other way but this. There was nothing honorable about dying in a coat closet. _

_ He braced himself against the back wall and drove his foot into the door, just below where he thought a handle should be. He did it with no expectation that it would work, but a few strong kicks and the door swung outward, and he stumbled out of his dark prison. _

_ It was bright -- Far too bright for Nohr, assuming that’s where he was. Maybe he’d just become too accustomed to the dark. He stumbled out a few feet, feeling along the walls with his hands until he bumped head first into something. Or, more aptly put, some _ one.

_ He recognized him more by scent rather than sight. Nature. Grass and trees and warm breezes billowing through the forests. _

_ “L-Leo?” _

_ The blonde grabbed him by the shoulders and held him out at arms length. Takumi still couldn’t see well, but the blur in front of him appeared to take the shape of the man he knew. _

_ “What are you doing?” _

_ “Huh?” _

_ “You know you’re not supposed to step out of line like this. Come on.” _

_ The figure grabbed him roughly by the wrist and dragged him back the way he’d come. No, this couldn’t be Leo. Leo was never unnecessarily rough with him. Not like this. _

_ “S-Stop! Where are you taking me? Leo, please!” _

_ “You know we wouldn’t have to keep doing this if you didn’t keep misbehaving.” _

_ They were back at the closet, he could tell by the door. It hung ever-so-slightly crooked, though he had no doubt that it could still work. Despite all logic, he  _ knew  _ that it still worked. _

_ “Leo, no! Please!” _

_ The Alpha shoved him back into the small space, easily overpowering his paltry resistance. _

_ “You have to learn your place.” _

_ “No! No, don’t leave me in here alone!” _

_ But his protests were in vain. The door slammed shut in his face, and he was left alone, once again, in the dark. _

* * *

 

A piercing scream echoed through the room and he shot straight out of bed. He fumbled around, reaching for something,  _ anything,  _ to defend himself with. Screaming was bad. Screaming was  _ always  _ bad.

He realized, after a moment, that the screams belonged to the Nohrian princess. At a want for things to bludgeon with, and realizing there was no danger anyways, he paused.

“Elise? Why are you screaming?”

“Why am  _ I  _ screaming? Why were  _ you  _ screaming?!”

“I… I was screaming?”

It’d been a long time since he’d had a nightmare that bad. Even just remembering it now had him in a cold sweat.

“Yes! Geez! You scared me!”

“I…” His voice was shaking. “I-I’m sorry.”

Gods he was pathetic. He couldn’t even keep his stupid nightmares to himself. He thought he’d grown out of literally  _ screaming _ in his sleep, but here he was.

”Was it a nightmare?”

“I-I’m sorry. I can leave if you want to sleep.”

“No no no! It’s okay! I get bad dreams too sometimes. C’mon, let’s do something fun to help you forget!”

_ Well, I suppose it couldn’t hurt. _

She ran and grabbed her retainer — the tiny one that could probably snap his arm on a whim — and minutes later he was sitting on Elise’s bed with a plate of sweets in front of him. It was a pretty impressive spread to put together on such short notice.

“Effie doesn’t dip into her personal stash for just anyone!” She giggled and sat on the bed beside him.

“Be sure to thank her for me tomorrow, then.” The poor woman had gone back to bed after the nightly disturbance, and he couldn’t blame her. He’d much rather be sleeping right now too.

“Can I braid your hair now?”

“I-I suppose…”

He nibbled slowly at one of the cookies as she pulled at his hair. Her nails scratched slightly at his scalp, but it didn’t hurt. It actually felt kind of nice. It reminded him of when Mama would massage his head when he got headaches as a kid.

“You have such pretty hair.” She wove the thick sections together, tugging gently at his roots, and when she was done she tied it off with his red hair ribbon.

He drew it over his shoulder and fingered it curiously.

“I’ve never braided my hair before.”

“Really?”

“Nope. I’ve never really done much with it, honestly.”

The only time he did anything fancy with his hair was for parties or events, and he  _ hated  _ going to those. Just a bunch of stuffy old Alphas arguing over nothing or attempting to court him in the creepiest manner possible.

“Well? Do you like it?”

“It’s… Nice. Pretty.” He didn’t really know what to say… At the end of the day it was still just hair to him.

But Elise seemed very pleased by this, and he liked the warm feeling that came along with making her happy.

* * *

 

_ I just need a few days to get my head straight. _

But a few days turned into weeks. One moment he was thrilled to bits; The next he was absolutely terrified. It was only getting harder to break their silence as the time passed. The longer he waited, the more sure he was that Leo probably hated his guts by now. They were going on three  _ weeks  _ of not speaking to each other.

To his credit, Leo had left him alone. He didn’t try to push him or demand an answer, and if they saw each other they exchanged very few words, if any at all. The Alpha always seemed to find something to occupy himself with elsewhere in the castle during the times they would normally cross paths. Part of him wanted to be hurt, but honestly he was grateful that Leo was willing to give him the time and the space.

In the quiet moments, he couldn’t help but feel nostalgic for the past. Not that their relationship had ever been uncomplicated, but it had certainly been  _ less  _ complicated. Inevitably, this would always lead his mind back to that night in the forest.

_ I think I’ll always love you. _

There was no question in his mind if Leo loved him. He didn’t doubt it for a second. But that said… Could he risk it? Could he risk his heart when there wasn’t a guarantee?

It all weighed heavily on his mind as he went through his typical routine. He wore his uncomfortable Nohrian clothes and sat through Camilla’s vapid lessons and helped Elise chase Siegbert all around the castle -- Provided that King Garon wasn’t around to catch him.

And maybe,  _ just maybe,  _ he was finally starting to get used to things around here. It wasn’t much, but there was a small sense of normalcy that he hadn’t felt in a long time. He supposed he had Camilla and Elise to thank for that.

At the dawn of their third week, after an exhausting night where he’d discovered that Elise  _ snored,  _ of all things, he retreated back to Leo’s room to get ready for the day. He didn’t worry too much about the aforementioned Alpha being there; He was always long gone before most anyone else would even dream of waking up. A quiet room and a nice, long bath sounded like heaven right now.

Of course the world loved throwing him for a loop. He pushed the door open and almost walked straight into the back of a tall Alpha. For one heart-stopping moment he thought it might be Garon, but he was too young. His scent wasn’t as musky or sick smelling, and his back didn’t hunch the same.

In fact, the man cut quite a figure. He was taller even than Leo or Camilla, which he was genuinely starting to believe wasn’t possible. Why were  _ all  _ Nohrians so amazonian? Even Elise would probably be taller than him eventually, considering she was only a few inches shorter and much younger than him.

There was still time. The Alpha hadn’t turned around yet, and if he moved quickly he could slip out the door and hide until he was gone. But, well, he hadn’t exactly been subtle in his entrance. That, and considering the fact that he was the only Omega aside from Elise in this wing of the castle his scent stood out.

Like it or not, he was going to be interacting with this Alpha. He tensed up as the man turned around.

Takumi smacked himself for not recognizing him earlier. The man standing in Leo’s room was none other than  _ the  _ Prince Xander of Nohr. They’d never directly met -- not even when he was being held in the Nohrian camp -- but he was a very distinctive man. He’d seen him on the battlefield more than once, sitting proudly atop his horse, black armor glinting in the sunlight.

Xander seemed surprised to see him. They both stood stock-still for a moment, like they were waiting for the other to attack.

“Pardon me, but I thought I would find Leo in here?”

He must have looked foolish, standing in the hallway in only his nightclothes -- A pair of loose pants and one of Leo’s deep v-neck shirts. As conflicted as he was, he had to admit that the Alpha’s scent  _ did  _ help his nausea. So he’d been stealing some of his more well-worn shirts. They left him a bit more exposed, but normally that wasn’t a problem because  _ normally  _ he didn’t have the crown prince of Nohr standing in the middle of Leo’s room when he needed to get ready. He tried to pull the cloth closed over his exposed chest to maintain some semblance of decency.

“H-He’s um… Probably gone to his office by now…” He shifted uncomfortably as the heat bled from his bare feet into the cold stone floors.

“I see…” If he didn’t know better, he would think that Xander had the slightest blush on his face. “I’m sorry, it was very rude of me to intrude on your morning routine without even introducing myself.”

The Alpha extended his hand, and Takumi hesitantly stepped forward and took it.

“I’m Prince Xander.”

“Erm… Takumi.”

Okay, this was  _ weird.  _ Camilla and Elise’s friendliness had been unexpected, but not exactly unfathomable either. Leo being at the very least civil was a given. But never in a million years would he have thought the  _ crown prince  _ would be extending a hand to him in greeting.

“I apologize, I wish we could have spoken before you were brought back to the capital. I know it’s a lot to take in. Has Leo been treating you well?”

“Well enough I suppose.”

They’d been through a tumultuous couple of weeks, but he couldn’t say Leo treated him  _ badly.  _ He was rather considerate of his needs when he was around to attend to them.

“It must be… Difficult. With everything that’s happening.”

The Alpha glanced down at his stomach briefly, but tore his eyes away quickly. Perhaps he thought it rude to reference when they barely knew each other. Takumi did his best to cover the exposed skin there as well.

“I’m getting by.”

“Of course… But please, do not hesitate to ask for anything you need. I know that when Charlotte was carrying Siegbert there was no end to the complaints.” His eyes glazed over, and for a moment he let the princely facade fall.

Right. He’d been chasing the scamp around for weeks, but he’d completely forgotten that he was the crown prince’s son. It was easy to forget, children didn’t have the weight of the world on their shoulders like their parents did. Or  _ parent. _ He’d never seen Siegbert’s mother, and judging from the wistful look in the crown prince’s eyes he could guess why. Though it was peculiar, since Xander didn’t appear to have a bond scar on his neck. Perhaps this Charlotte was another concubine?

“Um… Actually…”

He had no idea how the human race perpetuated itself if pregnancy made everyone feel this shitty. Then again, that could just be him. The universe seemed to have an extra enjoyable time making his life difficult.

The number of dishes he could reliably eat without throwing up was narrowing into the single digits these days, and it wasn’t as if he had a say in what the kitchens made for dinner. He’d spent the last few weeks picking at the food Camilla brought for him and choking down things that were sure to make his stomach turn for the sake of nourishment.

All of that, and he was feeling more than a little homesick. Maybe that was what possessed him to actually take the crown prince up on his offer.

“W-Would it be possible to make miso soup?”

“Miso soup? That’s a Hoshidan dish, correct?”

“Yes… I um… I can’t eat a lot, but miso soup never upsets my stomach.”

“I’m not sure we have the ingredients, but if we do then consider it done. Anything else?”

“... Chamomile tea, if you have it.”

He knew it was a bit weird that his favorite tea was Nohrian in origin, but when trade had been good between their countries the Hoshidan royal family liked buying it in bulk. Ryoma always made it for him when he needed a pick-me-up, and boy was he in need of one of those lately.

“I’ll see what I can do. I’m very glad that I got this opportunity to speak with you, but I really must be going.”

“Y-Yeah…”

The prince stepped out of the room, careful to give him a wide berth, and Takumi was finally alone. His fingers were shaking slightly as he pulled open the drawer to his dresser. Was Xander always so formal and unnerving, or was he only like that around strange Hoshidans that got knocked up by his little brother? It wasn’t too dissimilar to how Ryoma interacted with the nobility during festivals. Aloof and overly formal, with extra care considered before each sentence so as to not offend anyone.

It was better than what he’d been expecting, at least. He really should start counting his blessings, as they were so few and far between.

He tried to put the interaction out of his mind and focus on the day at hand. Camilla probably had something in store for him, hopefully nothing too physical. He was absolutely exhausted, and the pregnancy fatigue wasn’t helping.

He tucked in the hem of his shirt and took a long look in the mirror. Wait… No that couldn’t be right. Was he  _ already  _ showing? His mind had to be playing tricks on him, right? He lifted his shirt and turned every which way, but no. There it was, clear as day, a little baby bump.

It had happened so gradually that he hadn’t even noticed, but now that he thought about it his perfectly-tailored pants  _ were  _ starting to feel a bit tight.

He’d always prided himself on being in shape… He wasn’t sure how he felt about seeing the little swell to his stomach. He was happy, sure, but he was also far more self conscious than he’d expected to be. Mentally he knew what would happen to his body, but he just couldn’t envision it until this moment.

Well, he supposed this was the sign telling him that his time avoiding Leo was up. They couldn’t let it go on too long, lest it become obvious. By the looks of it,  _ obvious  _ territory was going to come sooner rather than later. For now he could get away with it with baggy clothes, but in a few weeks time…

He dropped his shirt and huffed. He didn’t even know what time Leo would be back tonight, if he came back at all. When the hell was he supposed to tell him about it? Was he just supposed to wait up until the Alpha got too exhausted to sit upright? That could take  _ weeks! _

Right on schedule, the purple haired Alpha knocked on his door as he was mulling it over. He’d taken a seat on the settee and spent the time running his hand over his belly. It was a new experience for him, and he just couldn’t quite get used to it yet.

“... Takumi, dear? Is something wrong?”

“The baby…” He was at a complete loss for words, so instead he stood up and pointed to his stomach. He pulled the fabric taut over his stomach to show off his little bump better. “... See?”

“Oh my! How wonderful!”

She smiled, and he had to admit that she looked genuinely happy for him. He didn’t necessarily need the affirmation, but it did make him feel that excited tingle in the base of his spine.

“So… Leo…”

“I… I know that I have to tell him, but how? He never leaves his office, and I can’t stay awake all night waiting for him to come back!”

“Don’t you worry about a thing. I’ll make sure you get the chance to talk to him tonight. Now, I suppose we’ll have to come up with something different to do today...” She tapped a finger to her chin, apparently deep in contemplation. “I know, why don’t we fix up the nursery a little? I’m sure you want to organize it to your liking.”

Well, he  _ was  _ itching to get in there and move things around, so he wasn’t going to object.

“Okay.”

* * *

 

They spent the rest of the day fussily re-arranging his nursery until all of the furniture was it it’s proper place. Well, Camilla did most of the arranging. She wouldn’t let him lift a finger, especially not to move all of those heavy wooden pieces. Instead he just sat off to the side in the rocking chair, giving her orders.

He was actually quite impressed by her strength; They’d been at this for hours and not only could she single handedly lift most of the furniture, she hadn’t even broken a sweat.

Now that he’d noticed the bump he couldn’t  _ stop  _ noticing it. He unconsciously kept rubbing at it or looking sideways at every mirror he passed to see if it was visible. But it only brought on further questions. Like...

“So… What happens now?”

He blurted it out without a second thought. Camilla huffed as she finished pushing the dresser into place for the tenth time.

“What do you mean, dear?”

“I mean… What do we do? Do we tell everyone?”

“Hmm… I’m not sure. Traditionally there would be a large feast, but I don’t know if father would allow such an event considering the circumstances. Why do you ask? You don’t do something similar in Hoshido?”

“For a pregnancy? … Not really. It invites bad luck.”

How would a party even work when no one would speak to him?

“The baby will be part of the royal family whether the royal court likes it or not… I can’t think of a single instance where we didn’t welcome a new member.”

She said it half to herself, and it wasn’t really a reassurance. That said, Camilla directed her attention back to the task at hand.

“Is this where you wanted this sweetie?”

The dresser still wasn’t quite in the right place… But he was getting bored sitting around doing nothing.

“It’s perfect, thank you.” He smiled as sincerely as possible, though he was too worried for it to really reach his eyes.

“Come on dear, you should be resting.” She put her hands forward to help him up out of the rocking chair.

“I’m not an invalid, Camilla! You don’t have to help me up yet!” But he took her hands anyways and let her pull him up onto his feet.

“Of course not!” She giggled softly. “Just practicing for the future!”

She walked with him back to Leo’s room, where there was already a tray with a large bowl of miso soup waiting for him on the bedside table.

* * *

 

He spent the rest of the day in bed under Camilla’s orders. Elise came by a few times, first to do a general check up on the baby and then to sit with him and Camilla. The two of them were currently arguing over how much exercise he should be getting now: A conversation he felt wholly left out of despite being the subject of it.

To his surprise, it didn’t take long for Leo to pop up again. He’d barely been in bed for an hour before the Alpha came through the door, looking suspiciously out of breath. Had he run? Had Camilla told him what was going on, or was he left to wonder?

As soon as he stepped inside, Camilla nudged Elise.

“Come on, we should let them talk.”

The pair shuffled out of the room quickly. Leo gave him a long, hard look before speaking.

“Have… Have you finished thinking about it..?”

“No, sorry I… This isn’t about that.” He’d completely forgotten about it in the excitement of the day, to be honest. Maybe he was being cruel by keeping him waiting for so long, but they had bigger concerns at the moment.

“If it’s not about that, then what  _ is  _ it about?”

He stood up from his place on the bed hoping that his baby bump would speak for itself, but he realized that they’d carefully dressed him to avoid anyone discovering it. He would have to come out and say it.

“I’m starting to show.”

“I… It’s early, isn’t it?”

“Three months. It is a little early, but the baby is making themselves known, trust me.” He pulled the fabric of his shirt taut over his abdomen for the second time that day, for emphasis.

Leo smiled hesitantly back at him. “This is... great.”

“Don’t sound so excited about it.”

“No, I am excited!” He could practically see the cogs turning inside of Leo’s head. “We can just tell everyone that you got pregnant after arriving at Nohr… The timeline will be a bit off, but we can play it by ear as the pregnancy goes on. In the meantime, Camilla should arrange to get you bigger clothes...”

“Already on it.” He laughed nervously. Camilla was always on top of everything, wasn’t she?

“Of course she is…” The Alpha glanced down at his stomach, hand half extended. “Can I..?”

“I… Y-Yeah, okay.”

This  _ was  _ Leo’s baby too, regardless of the awkward air hanging over their heads. The blonde reached forward slowly and placed his palm flat against the bump.

“I hope they have your eyes.” He whispered. The corners of his lips turned up in a genuine smile. It was the kind of smile that lit up the whole room, and he couldn’t remember if he’d ever seen anything like it on Leo’s face. If he had, it had been too long.

It seemed like a private thought accidentally spoken aloud. Takumi wasn’t sure how to respond, so he simply didn’t. He let the moment pass, but in the empty air between them he wished he’d said something. The Alpha took his hand away a moment later and stepped back a few paces. The cold air stung after he retracted his fingers, and he found himself missing the touch.

“I’ll alert father. We’ll need to start planning the announcement party soon.”

“P-Party?” They wouldn’t  _ really  _ throw a party for a Hoshidan whore, would they? Camilla’s uncertainty had him hoping that he could get out of it.

“Of course. We have a new member of the royal family on the way, after all.”

* * *

 

Well, he was learning one thing about Nohr: They were serious about their parties. Maybe it was the drab castle, or the oppressive darkness, or the freezing cold… Or really, any one of the many things that made this place so gods forsaken... Whatever it was, people were excited enough to overlook a Hoshidan whore being the main focus.

By the end of the week the date was set and servants were bustling about the castle ensuring everything was ready. Everything just moved without his input.

He’d moved back into Leo’s room for the time being, partly because he hated inconveniencing Elise and partly because he was so damn  _ exhausted  _ all of the time. He was still nauseous as hell, his back hurt, and he found himself crying at the drop of a hat. The farthest he walked was to the nursery, and even then he almost immediately had to sit back down. Elise told him not to get out of bed if he wasn’t feeling well, since his vertigo might cause him to fall.

Thankfully, Camilla managed to sneak a few books out of the library for him to read. Most were in the common tongue, but she did grab a few Nohrian children’s books for him to practice with as well. Those, and her company, were pretty much the only thing keeping him from spiraling into a bundle of anxiety.

“So… What exactly happens at these events?”

“Sweetie... You’ve asked me this three times already.”

“I know that! I just don’t want to do something stupid!”

“Don’t worry about it! This is a small event. Just a feast. The nobility will wish you well, there will be some dancing, and then you can tell everyone how positively  _ exhausted  _ you are from the baby and slip out early.

A party.  _ Of course  _ it had to be a party. The universe just  _ loved  _ putting him into uncomfortable situations. With his luck, he’d probably end up puking all over the table.

“We can go over etiquette again, if it would put your mind at ease.”

He nodded eagerly, if only to have something to do.

* * *

 

What Nohrians considered small and what he considered small were two  _ very  _ different things. In Hoshido, small meant maximum twenty people, and most of those were family. In Nohr, that meant that there was an entire ballroom dedicated to this party, and at least a hundred people milling about when they got there. There was even a full string orchestra nestled in the corner of the room to play soft music over everyone’s conversations.

There was one large table set up in the center of the room, toward the back. This was where most of the food was, though there were plenty smaller tables scattered about like an afterthought. Said table was apparently seated by order of importance -- There were two empty seats reserved in the center of the long table for them. One end held a royal throne, upon which the king of Nohr himself was already situated. The other end had a smaller but no less opulent throne, though that one remained curiously empty.

Radiating out from the center seemed to be a hierarchy of sorts. Royal family in the center, then presumably members of the nobility.

He unconsciously tightened his grip on Leo’s arm when he saw the sheer size of the crowd.

“Don’t worry.” The Alpha leaned over to whisper in his ear. His voice was low and soothing, though it did nothing to relax him. “Just smile and nod if anyone talks to you. You don’t have to say a word.”

Leo sat down in the empty seat beside Camilla, and he took his place next to Elise.

His head was swimming as they sat down. Sit up straight, don’t make eye contact, use this spoon, don’t forget to smile. Not a toe out of line.

The youngest Nohrian sibling glanced over and shot him the most radiant smile, but it didn’t do much to set his mind at ease. She didn’t have to think about any of this. At the end of the day, she didn’t have to worry about impressing anyone.

He sat, hands folded in his lap as they waited for the food to be served. It was a constant struggle not to fidget or squirm in his seat,  _ especially  _ with every member of the nobility shooting him glances and whispering under their breath.

He realized that this was the first most of them were seeing him, and he wasn’t sure if that was working in his favor or not. Since their arrival in Nohr he’d been mostly confined to the royal wing of the palace, and he’d encountered very few members of the royal court. Off of the top of his head, he couldn’t see  _ any  _ that he recognized on sight.

What were they thinking about him? He assumed it was all negative, or so vile it wasn’t worth repeating. It would make sense, he was an outsider to them They had no reason to like him.

One man in particular wouldn’t stop staring at him. He wanted to turn and give him a piece of his mind, but he swallowed his frustrations and bowed his head. It wouldn’t do him any good to start any fights.

Leo’s hand found his underneath the tablecloth. It was a small comfort, but a comfort nonetheless. Without even processing the potential implications, or mixed signals, or whatever he slipped his fingers between the Alphas and squeezed to show his appreciation as they waited.

The food came out, and he ate in silence.

As well intentioned as Leo’s advice was, it ended up being completely worthless. Not a single person spoke to him the entire night. Not during dinner, and certainly not afterwards. And as  _ disappointed _ as he was to miss out on practice smiling and nodding like an empty headed fool, he couldn’t say that he wasn’t at least a little relieved. The fewer opportunities he had to humiliate himself, the better.

The entire meal went off without much fanfare. A few of the nobility congratulated Leo -- at least he assumed they were congratulations since he was still so unfamiliar with the language -- but that same courtesy was not extended to him.

He’d hoped that the dinner would be it for the night’s festivities, and he could go back to Leo’s room and sleep. Sleep, and try to forget about this entire wretched night. But of course, just like every other awful thing in Nohr this party was set to be quite a bit longer and more painful for him than he’d initially expected.

Once the eating was done many of the nobility broke off to mingle and dance. To his dismay, Leo did the exact opposite of leaving. He got up and  _ joined  _ them, leaving him uncomfortable and fuming at the table.

He glanced at Camilla for any indication that he could leave now, but she shook her head.

_ Wait a little longer.  _ She mouthed silently to him.  _ I’m sure he’ll want to leave soon enough. _

The longer he sat by himself, the more sure he became that  _ something  _ was going to happen. He didn’t know what, or when, or how, but  _ something  _ was coming. He warily eyed the Nohrian king out of the corner of his eye, but the Alpha paid him no mind. He was busy with what appeared to be a nobleman and his daughter.

Leo would come back, right? Surely he wasn’t planning on leaving him by himself the whole night? But come to think of it, he couldn’t even  _ see  _ Leo among the sheer number of people in the ballroom. Too many blondes wearing exclusively black and white. Too many pale faces and dark eyes to sift through.

It was getting late. He was tired. He was  _ pregnant  _ damn it, surely that had to count for something? Like a get-out-of-jail-free card for one stuffy Nohrian event? No one was paying him any mind anyways, he could  _ easily  _ slip out.

And gods be damned, it wasn’t as if the nobility could hate him any more than they already did, right? His feet hurt and his back was sore and in another hour he was probably just going to end up crouched over the toilet expelling whatever he’d just eaten from his stomach anyways.

He slowly stood up from his chair, and when no one paid him any mind he started heading for the door.

_ If anyone asks I’ll just say that I was trying to find the bathroom. Not that anyone will ask. _

He worked his way around the edge of the room just in case, though. The fewer odd looks he garnered the better.

He was less than a few yards away from freedom when something caught his attention. It was a voice, rather young and shrill. Sugary sweet and very fake, the kind of thing he’d associate with the nobles so desperate for his brother’s attention while he’d still been courting.

“Prince Leo!”

He whipped around, and sure enough the second prince of Nohr was standing amongst the crowd not far behind him. The voice that had called him belonged to an Omega, young even by his standards. Fourteen or fifteen at best. He was dressed from head to toe in fine velvets and gemstones, neat brown hair hanging unrestrained around his ears. Clearly another member of the nobility, and presumably an important member at that.

Takumi stopped in his tracks, his original goal completely forgotten. He knew he shouldn’t have stayed, but he was too curious to see how this interaction would play out. What would Leo do? How would he react?

He couldn’t hear their conversation over the rest of the party, but their body language left little ambiguity. Leo smiled and nodded, and the boy made eyes at him that any self respecting human being should have been ashamed of.

That bastard was trying to  _ woo  _ Leo.

_ His  _ Alpha.

He’d never explicitly thought of Leo as  _ his  _ before… But, well, watching this Omega sidle up to him and flirtatiously touch his arm suddenly had Takumi thinking of nothing else.

The Nohrian prince apparently said something quite funny, because the boy devolved into a fit of insincere giggling.

He’d seen enough. He didn’t know what he’d been expecting. What, everything was going to be fine and perfect just because Leo told him he loved him? Leo was always going to have the option of someone better. Any illusion he’d held on to that Leo could be  _ his  _ was shattered. Takumi turned on his heel and stomped out of the ballroom, no longer caring who saw him or questioned him leaving.

Maybe he would sleep in the nursery tonight. There was a bed there, and he didn’t think he could stand to be around anyone right now. Maybe he could even get around to moving some of the lighter furniture without an Alpha nagging him about _ straining himself.  _ Damn it, he’d fought in a war! Why was everyone so intent on coddling him? He was perfectly capable of knowing his own limits!

He didn’t even make it around the corner before he heard footsteps following after him, but he didn’t care. He kept walking, fists clenched and prepared to turn around and punch whoever this was square in the face if they tried to stop him.

“Takumi! Hey, wait! Where are you going?”

Leo’s voice was unmistakable.

_ Great. You’re the last person I want to see right now. _

He didn’t even stop moving.

“I’m tired, and I have better things to do than stand around and watch you flirt with some floozy all night! If you want to go fuck someone else that’s your prerogative, but I have a nursery to set up!”

“What are you talking about, the nursery is already set up!”

“Well they didn’t do it right!” He snapped over his shoulder, making sure to stomp as loudly as possible as he made his way back to the royal wing of the palace.

He wasn’t expecting Leo to follow him. Tears were already welling up behind his eyes and he  _ really  _ didn’t want the Nohrian prince to know the kind of effect he’d had on him.

_ Just go back to your stupid party! I know you’d rather do that than deal with me… _

Color him surprised when he arrived at the nursery, and the Alpha slammed the door closed behind him. For a brief moment Takumi worried that he’d broken the door frame.

“What the hell is wrong with you!”

Leo crossed his arms expectantly, like it was some grand question he demanded an answer to.

“What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with  _ you!” _

He opened one of the drawers in the dresser and started shuffling the contents around, just so he didn’t have to look the Alpha in the eye. He didn’t think it would get to him this much, but seeing it all laid out in front of his face was harder than he’d expected.

“Look, I know I’m just your concubine or whatever, but that doesn’t mean I want to  _ see  _ you running around with other Omegas!”

“What exactly is that supposed to mean?”

Was Leo stupid, or just that ignorant? Hadn’t he made it  _ very clear  _ what that meant?

He slammed the drawer shut and started working on another. Well, he wasn’t really working on anything, just attempting to keep his hands busy.

“I know you’re going to find yourself a pretty little blonde Omega to mate with and have perfect little Nohrian children so you can please your daddy, but could you not rub it in my damn face? I don’t want to watch you go running around with other Omegas!”

“Why do  _ you  _ care if I go ‘running around’ with other Omegas?”

“Because I still love you, okay! It’s stupid and I  _ know _ I shouldn’t but I do! And I can’t stand the idea of you with someone else even though I  _ know _ it’s probably going to happen eventually! You’re going to go and get yourself a proper family one of these days and I just have to accept that, I guess.”

He couldn’t go on like this for much longer. It was stupid and unhealthy and it was driving him  _ crazy,  _ but he knew it in his heart that it was true. Leo loved him, but that was so useless it was almost meaningless in the long run. Love didn’t mean anything in politics, and like or not, as a prince, Leo’s life would  _ always  _ be about politics.

Takumi had understood that, that was why he’d stopped secretly meeting Leo. As much as he loved him, as much as he wanted to  _ try  _ he knew that they wouldn’t survive the process. And if it hadn’t been for this baby, he would have stuck by his decision. He could have led an unhappy, but uncomplicated existence in Hoshido, and kept his family to boot.

_ Gods,  _ why was he so damn  _ stupid? _

He slammed the drawer shut and turned to face the Alpha. Head down, eyes fixed on the floor. He tried to keep the Alpha from seeing the frustrated tears in his eyes. But he wouldn’t cry. He refused to cry.

“Hey… Look at me.”

When he didn’t move, Leo took a step toward him and gently nudged his chin up. He didn’t want to look, though. He was afraid of what he would find.

Face to face with those piercing red eyes… He was frozen in place. Leo looked almost as scared as he felt. It was something he never would have expected from someone so good at containing his emotions.

“I already have a proper family, okay?”

He reached a hand out slowly, and when Takumi didn’t stop him he placed his palm against his little bump once again.

“You’re my family. This pup is my family. I don’t  _ want  _ another mate or pure blooded Nohrian children. I’m happy with what we have.”

He stopped and stared into Leo’s eyes for a long moment. Searching for any hint of insincerity, any miniscule display of doubt… There had to be something, right? Surely his mind had to be playing a cruel trick on him?

But he found none. There was nothing but pure, unwavering dedication in those eyes.

His voice caught in this throat… What could he say? There were no words. He didn’t think there ever would be. Instead he stepped forward, and he allowed himself to collapse in the Alpha’s arms.

Leo seemed shocked at first, but he quickly reciprocated the caress -- No awkwardness, no hesitation. He felt fingers weave through his hair and breath tickle the top of his head, and for once he allowed himself to be vulnerable. Takumi choked out the only sentence he could manage.

“You had better not be lying to me.”

“Never again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No promises that the upcoming chapters will be consistent. I'm in school and unfortunately that comes first, but since it's been awhile I figured I would update this. Plus, now we get to end on them not hating each other :P


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